Violence at cab checks
Illegal hacks are literally fighting back against a city crackdown — by viciously attacking TLC officers, agency sources told The Post.
Taxi and Limousine Commission inspectors tell frightening tales of being bitten and punched, seeing guns pulled on them — and even being followed home by the rogue drivers.
“We’re in jeopardy. They know who we are. Everything is escalating,” a source said. “Their common enemy is the TLC. They used to f ight over fares before; now they’re organizing.”
Unlike other enforcers such as MTA Bridges and Tunnels cops, TLC inspectors don’t have guns or even Tasers. Instead, they perform car stops unarmed all day in roughandtumble neighborhoods.
YouTube videos have documented the violence, which has included a mob in Crown Heights descending on officers and a driver scratching TLC agents in the arm and neck. An NYPD officer was even dragged by an illegal driver this year on Flatbush Avenue while working with TLC inspectors, sources said.
Many whistleblowers told The Post it’s hard to find out how many officers have been assaulted — because the TLC tries to reclassify them as accidents.
Under their contract, officers can get up to 18 months off if they are assaulted but only three months if it’s an accident.
Monica McKay, 40, a former TLC officer, said that an illegal driver deliberately ran over her foot but that the agency recorded the incident as an accident.
“We are attacked by the drivers,” she said. “We have no weapons. They are getting worse.”
Some are calling for TLC workers to be given guns.
Any credible allegations about off icers’ safety are investigated, a TLC rep said.
“TLC inspectors do an essential, difficult and sometimes dangerous job,” said spokesman Allan Fromberg.
“They are appropriately equipped for the challenges they face.”
The backlash comes as the TLC has been under fire for bogus seizures, allegedly a result of pressure from agency brass.
More than 9,600 cars were seized last year — almost 70 percent more than the previous year.
“Seizing more means interacting more with angry people,” said Derek Jackson, an assistant director at Local 237. “They will try to escape and fight back. They will try and flee.”