A woman in her 20’s was picked up by a cab, taken to a parking lot, drugged, and eventually sexually assaulted, according to the Southern Chiefs’ Organization.
At a press conference in Winnipeg Thursday, Leslie Spillett with Ki Ni Ka Nichihk said the woman and her friend hailed a taxi downtown around 2 a.m. on Nov. 3. Her friend was dropped off first. As she thought she was being taken home, the cab driver told her his shift was over and they would have to change cabs.
“There was another car there. It was not a cab. There were two other individuals in that car,” said Spillett. “She was given something. Drugged… What we do know is it was something to smoke and then from there she said she couldn’t remember much until she woke up.”
Spillett said the woman woke up disoriented in a bed with a man she didn’t know somewhere in North Kildonan. She claims she had been sexually assaulted. She managed to make her way to a coffee shop on McLeod Avenue and Henderson Highway and hopped on a bus home.
Police are investigating. The alleged incident happened just days before CTV spoke with Patricia Nosal, who said a taxi driver propositioned her for sex, and drove her home where another car was waiting. She said the men hopped out and asked her if she’d like to make some extra money.
A spokesperson with Winnipeg Police Service said police received three complaints about cab drivers’ behavior between Nov. 3 and 6.
“We as a taxicab board are always concerned when people’s safety is put into jeopardy,” said Ross Eadie, city councilor for the Mynarski Ward, who also sits on the Manitoba Taxicab Board, a quasi-judicial administrative tribunal with authority to hear matters including driver misconduct.
Eadie said the taxicab board has taken action to enhance safety for passengers and drivers and mandated taxicabs to install a higher quality in-car taxi camera with a panoramic view and a larger memory card with storage of 28 days. Currently, taxis capture still images but not audio.
“We know that with the newer equipment there’s an ability to record audio at the same time although there needs to be clearance from the province of Manitoba in that regard,” Eadie said.
Eadie said the taxicab driver course will now be taught to understand indigenous culture, human rights, how to deliver proper customer service, along with human trafficking, sexual harassment and conflict resolution.
