Texas Cabbie Sues Police After Drunken Attack

An Austin, Texas, cab driver has sued the city and five police officers, after a drunk subject attacked him on the ride home, reports KVUE .

On June 10, 2011, the officers requested that Akbar Amir-Akbari, 66, drive home Dustin Christopher Rowden, who had been kicked out of a bar for fighting.

Rowden began punching the cabbie, who pulled into a convenience store. Rowden continued the assault until several bystanders helped out Amir-Akbari, who has driven a cab in the city for 30 years.

On Monday, he and the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) filed a federal lawsuit against officers Craig Smith, Joseph Brown, Russell Smith, Noel Guerin, and Brandon Bullock. The lawsuit also names the city.

A city ordinance says cab drivers can only refuse to transport a person if that person is disorderly, engaged in unlawful conduct, has no ability to pay the fare or puts the safety of the driver or cab at risk, reports KVUE.