In Poland, a taxi passenger attacked a driver because of his accent. He faces up to five years in prison.
On April 2, around 12:40 AM, an incident occurred in a taxi in Białystok involving a passenger. The driver was a Belarusian named Sergei. According to him, the ride was trouble-free: the passenger was calm and there was no sign of conflict.
However, after the ride was over, the situation changed dramatically. After the driver announced the fare, the passenger suddenly became aggressive upon hearing his accent. “In this country, motherfuckers, they speak clearly,” he said. To which Sergey replied, “Maybe Pan won't tell me how to speak?”
After this, the passenger became even more enraged, asking what country the driver was from, threatening, and insulting him. Sergey pointed to the camera and informed him that the car was under video surveillance, but this did nothing to calm the aggressive passenger.
Sergei asked the man to get out of the car, but the man simply pulled out his phone and started filming the taxi driver, shouting and grabbing him by the clothes. The taxi driver started calling the police, but the passenger, hearing the automated operator's voice, left the car.
The driver ended the call and drove away. Two hundred meters later, he spotted a police patrol and approached them to inquire about the best course of action and to show them the dashcam. They, in turn, were working on another car and said they were very busy, advising the man to call the general police number again.
Sergey's colleagues recommended lawyer David Dehnert (@dawid.dehnert), who specializes in xenophobia cases. Sergey sent him the dashcam footage, and he agreed to take the case.
The aggressive passenger now faces up to 5 years in prison.
Anna Detushkina
Reporter
Covers cultural and social issues, revealing corruption schemes in the fields of culture, education, and non-profit organizations.
