Aman Khan displays injuries sustained after he was punched in the face while at a cab stand in downtown Windsor. Windsor police are investigating the assault.Photograph by: Jason Kryk, The Windsor StarA Windsor taxi driver who was punched in the face by another cabbie says the incident was only the latest example of the union “harassing” the drivers it’s supposed to represent.
According to Aman Khan, 57, the man who struck him on Monday night is a loyalist to CAW Local 195.
“They are running around, harassing us,” Khan said.
Khan has been prominent among a group of Veteran Cab drivers who have complained of CAW Local 195 practices — accusing the union of being undemocratic, lacking financial accountability, and resorting to physical intimidation.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. on Pitt Street near the bus terminal.
Khan said he was sitting in his taxi and waiting for fares when another cabbie — Robert (Bob) Beaudoin — pulled up near him.
According to Khan, Beaudoin angrily yanked open the door of Khan’s vehicle and slugged him once, just above the mouth.
The blow was heavy enough to cause a cut inside Khan’s upper lip that required stitches.
On Tuesday, Khan pointed out blood stains on the floor of his cab. He said four of his teeth were loosened by the punch, and he still has a headache. “All over, the blood,” Khan said.
But Windsor police have heard differing versions of what happened.
Sgt. Brett Corey said that immediately after the incident, the puncher voluntarily went to Windsor police headquarters to talk to an officer about it.
Corey said the man told investigators that he threw the punch because his face had been spit upon — an act which police consider assault.
Corey said that, as of Tuesday afternoon, no one had been arrested and no charges had been laid.
“It was essentially considered to be a consensual fight or disagreement,” Corey said. “Each person assaulted the other one.”
But Khan said he never spat on Beaudoin, and didn’t say anything to cause trouble.
Khan said he thinks a charge will be laid once investigators see the footage from the security camera in his taxi. “My window was closed. Everything was closed. He opened the door and ‘bang,’” Khan said.
Khan said Beaudoin is a member of the CAW Local 195 committee that supposedly represents Veteran Cab drivers — but Beaudoin was never elected to the position.
Meanwhile, CAW Local 195 president Gerry Farnham said Khan’s allegations are false. “I know — unequivocally — this (incident) has nothing to do with the union at all.”
According to Farnham, the punch was the result of “a personal matter between two drivers. I have no reason to believe anything different,” Farnham said.
“Certainly, I wouldn’t condone those type of actions in any way, shape or form.”
Asked if it’s true Beaudoin wasn’t elected, Farnham replied: “Some of the elected officials are not coming out to the meetings, so we’ve had to put somebody to conduct in their place.
“But those people that are not showing up for those meetings are still, as far as we’re concerned, the union representatives.”
Monday’s incident wasn’t the first example of violence between CAW Local 195 loyalists and other cabbies.
During the Veteran Cab strike of the summer of 2009, three Local 195 members were arrested and charged for using a slingshot to fire marbles at “scab” drivers.
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