The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A TAXI driver wants compensation after he was allegedly suspended without proper authority or investigation. 

He wants a judicial review of the practice where taxi drivers are suspended without proper authority.

Philip Miller sued the Ministry of Transport and the Port Authority after allegedly becoming unemployed from February 19, 2018, to March 18, 2018, due to an incident with a road traffic officer at Festival Place. 

After an encounter with the officer, Mr Miller was allegedly denied entry to Festival Place until a disciplinary board meeting on March 15, where he was suspended for four days. 

Mr Miller, who was represented by Romona Farquharson Seymour and her co-counsel Samuel Taylor, alleged that Terez Kemp, a road traffic officer at the port, passed Mr Miller’s taxi fare to another driver.

 He said he approached Ms Kemp, questioning why she had given his fare to another driver even though his taxi was next in line. She allegedly said he had taken longer than usual. This led to an argument between the two.

 Ms Kemp ordered a Royal Bahamas Defense Force officer to remove Mr Miller from the property, and the man’s badge, which permitted him access to the property, was taken away. Ms Kemp later submitted a formal report against Mr Miller. 

 Ms Kemp, a resident of Sir Lynden Pindling Estates, took the stand. Sophia Williams represented the    Crown. Ms Kemp accused Mr Miller of using profanity during the exchange.

 “I didn’t put it in the report. I didn’t want to because of the foul language,” she said. 

 She said she and Mr Miller had minimal interaction before the incident. She said passing the taxi fare to another driver was not unwarranted. 

 She said Mr Miller “took long” to respond to the call and noted that his badge was returned the same day as the incident. 

  Doral Fowler, a taxi cab driver of 36 years, who was present during the incident, took the stand as a witness, saying Mr Miller took between a minute or two to present himself to the call desk. 

 He said that after Mr Miller questioned Ms Kemp about skipping his fare, Ms Kemp became loud and aggressive, asking: “Who do you think you are talking to? You do not tell me what to do.” 

 He said Ms Kemp questioned whether Mr Miller “wants to work around here”. 

 Mr Fowler supported Mr Miller’s claim that he did not curse at Ms Kemp, describing him as a Christian and frequent churchgoer. He added that Ms Kemp had developed a reputation for being rude to taxi drivers. 

 Senior Commander Berne Wright and Janet Thompson also took the stand. The matter appeared before Chief Justice Ian Winder and was adjourned to September 3.