Frederick cab driver killed in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (AP) – The owner of a Frederick-based cab company says one of his drivers was found shot to death early Monday in Baltimore.

Blaine Young, owner of Yellow Cab of Frederick, says the driver was found dead around 4 a.m. after the company received a call for a local pick up and drop off in Frederick. Young tells The (Baltimore) Sun that the driver told a dispatcher shortly after midnight that he had picked up the fare and was not heard from again.

The driver was found shot to death in his cab at a public housing complex along North Bond Street in Baltimore. Police tell the WJZ-TV the driver's side window had been shot out.

Young did not give the driver's name because his family was still being notified. Young says the man was married, had three children, and had been with the company since June.

Ok Did the taxi this guy was driving have a safety device? How many Chicago drivers behind a shield have been killed in the last ten years? How many were killed in the previous ten years when shields weren't reqiured?

Now for the last question, if I were to poll the dead mans kids and wife would they prefer that the head of the family had had a camera or a shield in the taxi he was driving on the night of the fatal shooting? Naturally both would be the right answer, but what if only one is mandatory? Do you really think the camera is the correct answer?

Ahmed R wrote, "if I were to poll the dead mans kids and wife would they prefer that the head of the family had had a camera or a shield in the taxi he was driving on the night of the fatal shooting? Naturally both would be the right answer, but what if only one is mandatory? Do you really think the camera is the correct answer?"

Did you read the part that said, "Police tell the WJZ-TV the driver's side window had been shot out."?

If the gunshot came from inside the cab, it's up for debate which safety device would be more effective. If the man was shot from outside the cab, a shield wouldn't have done a thing to save his life. Perhaps a camera would have caught something. Perhaps the killer would have thought twice if he believed there was video equipment in the car. If the killer shot the man from outside of the cab and then reached in to rob the driver after the fact, he would likely be caught on camera, which might lead to getting this man off the streets faster so that other cabdrivers aren't at risk from him.

So I turn your question back to you. If you were to ask the man's family about which safety device they would prefer if they could only have one, what do you think they would say?

Knowing what we know, I think it's a no brainer.

George Lutfallah

I did miss that the window had been shot out. This would lead me to believe that the person that called for a cab was working with others. Perhaps one calls for a cab a mile or two away and has the others waiting at the destination.

A shield is a safety device that has worked here in Chicago. No one can argue with the statistics. The one to interview for a testimonial is Caroline Shoenburger. While I do not agree with most of what she did to us, the shields have saved lives.

Cameras work better after the fact, or in other words after the crime. If the crime is murder I would rather be behind a shield than a camera lens. Here's another question, would one think that these criminals would have been more or less likely to attack if cabs in this city all had partitions?

One last closing thought: would training drivers on "how to surrender" to a robbery be worth teaching? I have more thoughts on this subject but will wait for commentary. Ahmed R.