Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: WED 2/11/04

Cab driver files verbal abuse claim/Says tape captures incident with Metro officer

By STEVE McVICKER
Staff

A Houston cabdriver from Ethiopia has filed a complaint with Metropolitan Transit Authority police, alleging that he recorded a Metro officer cursing him repeatedly during a traffic stop and telling him to "go back where you come from."

A copy of the audiotape obtained by the Chronicle appears to capture Officer Doug Carr berating Central Cab driver Amanuel Hadis during a tirade at a downtown intersection Monday morning.

"We don't need your kind here," Carr tells Hadis, a naturalized U.S. citizen. "You can go back to where you come from if you don't want to abide by our laws. You understand me?"

While Carr said Tuesday he had no comment about the incident, Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert said his department's professional standards section is investigating the complaint.

"This sergeant is talking to (Hadis), and we'll get a statement from him," said Lambert. "We will investigate the complaint. We have very clearly defined standards and expectations, and if our officer is outside of that expectation standard, we will deal with that appropriately."

But Hadis, who fled civil war-torn Ethiopia in 1990, says he wants Carr fired. He says he now fears driving his cab downtown.

"He can shoot me and kill me anytime he wants," he said of Carr , a former president of the Metro Police Association. "He can do anything he wants. I want him to get fired. He doesn't belong there. Most officers are nice people."

Hadis' attorney, Matt Hennessy, said he believes that - at the least - Metro owes his client an apology.

The confrontation occurred just after 9 a.m. Monday, when Hadis stopped at Main Street and Texas Avenue - an area in which Metro officers have stepped up enforcement of traffic laws. The front wheels of Hadis' cab apparently touched or crossed the white lines of the pedestrian crossing, and Carr ordered him to pull over.

Hadis said Carr instantly became abusive, yelling profanities from his patrol car. Hadis said that because he feared for his safety, he telephoned his voice mail and recorded the ensuing exchange.

The recording begins with Carr calmly asking Hadis several questions. When Hadis fails to provide proof of current insurance, he tries to explain that he forgot to bring his new insurance card with him.

At that point, Carr appears to lose his temper and accuses Hadis of lying. Hadis denies lying and protests that he did not run a red light.

"Let me tell you something, (expletive)," Carr says. "You cross that white line out there, that's running the red light. You want to argue with me or you want to go to jail?'

Carr again threatens Hadis with jail later in the confrontation.

" 'Cause I'll stick your stinking ass in jail right now, I don't care," Carr says. "I don't like cabdrivers in the first place. I will put you in jail. . . . I don't know what it's like in your country, but in the United States of America, in the state of Texas, we abide by all the laws. You don't like it here, leave, you got it?"

Before releasing Hadis with citations for running a red light, operating a vehicle without insurance and failing to wear a seat belt, Carr ensures the cabdriver will remember his name.

"Look at my name," he says. "Remember it. Remember C-a-r-r. 'Cause the next time I find you on a city street in Houston, Texas, downtown and you (expletive) break the law, I will put your ass in jail. Do you understand me?"

When reached by phone and asked about the confrontation on Tuesday, Carr replied, "What about it?"

Told that the newspaper had a recording of the exchange with Hadis, Carr said he had no comment and abruptly hung up.

...

ENCOUNTER EXCERPT

From Monday's taped conversation between Metro policeman Doug Carr and Central Cab Co. driver Amanuel Hadis:

Carr: I don't know what it's like in your country, but in the United States of America, in the state of Texas, we abide by all the laws. You don't like it here, leave, you got it? Hadis: OK.

For the full transcript, see Page 12A.

...

THE COP AND THE CABBIE

Officer Doug Carr of the Metropolitan Transit Authority stopped Amanuel Hadis, a Central Cab Co. driver originally from Ethiopia, at 9:05 a.m. Monday at a downtown intersection. The following is a transcript of their conversation as recorded by Hadis:

Carr: This your cab?

Hadis: Yes, sir.

Carr: It says here it's expired. What else you got?

Hadis: My insurance is expired? I didn't get change, but I think I left it at my house.

Carr: You didn't get it, or you left it at home?

Hadis: I got it . . .

Carr: Which lie are you telling me?

Hadis: I'm not lying, sir, I'm just . . .

Carr: Yes you are. Ran red light, no insurance and not wearing a seat belt. Sign right there. Court date's on the top.

Hadis: I did not pass the red light. I was holding the brake.

Carr: Let me tell you something, (expletive). You cross that white line out there, that's running the red light. You want to argue with me or you want to go to jail?

Hadis: No.

Carr: 'Cause I'll stick your stinking ass in jail right now, I don't care. I don't like cabdrivers in the first place. I will put you in jail. You pulled out in the middle of the intersection. That's running a red light, whether you backed up or not. I don't know what it's like in your country, but in the United States of America, in the state of Texas, we abide by all the laws. You don't like it here, leave, you got it? Hadis: OK.

Carr: You understand me?

Hadis: Yes, sir.

Carr: Do we understand real good English here?

Hadis: Yes, sir. I'm sorry.

Carr: We don't need your kind here. You can go back to where you come from if you don't want to abide by our laws. You understand me?

Hadis: Yes, sir.

Carr: Look at my name. Remember it. Remember C-a-r-r. 'Cause the next time I find you on a city street in Houston, Texas, downtown, and you (expletive) break the law, I will put your ass in jail. Do you understand me?

Hadis: Yes, sir.

Carr: I'm speaking real straight, slow English.

Hadis: All right, sir.