Saturday, October 25, 2014

Over Policing Just A Bit Much?

From the LVRJ:
Uber’s ride-sharing service was halted Friday, just hours after it launched in Nevada.
Carson City District Judge James Russell blocked Uber from offering any rides in the state through at least Nov. 7. A hearing is set for Nov. 6.
The state’s attorney general sought the temporary order late Friday afternoon.
State and county taxi officers also were trying to stop the Uber drivers earlier in the day, but managed to do so on a much smaller scale.
On Friday afternoon, at least five drivers — four in Las Vegas and one in Reno — had been cited by regulators, according to Teri Williams, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Business and Industry. Those drivers face fines of up to $10,000, Williams said.
Uniformed officers were at the Fashion Show mall on the Strip late Friday to meet Uber driver Michael Elsner with a ticket.
Five unmarked white Nevada Taxicab Authority vehicles surrounded his blue Ford Focus as he was driving east on Fashion Show Drive about 3:30 p.m. He was pulled over while trying to drop off two passengers. Two undercover officers wore black ski masks.
Elsner appeared annoyed but handled himself with humor.
During a call to an Uber hotline operator, he told officers and reporters, “They’re [Uber] worth more than $18 billion. Do you think the Nevada Taxicab authority is going to win? I mean, Come on, come on.”  http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/nevada-puts-stop-ridesharing-uber-now
It was so nice of the Taxicab Authority to invite the press over to witness the cops over doing the traffic stop.
With 5 undercover cars and 2 of the cops with masks on, the cops probably thought they were arresting a drugged up assassin who just raped a little girl instead a driver who was giving a person a ride for some cash.
Maybe next time, the TA can show as much force with long haulers, foul mouth cabbies and other problems with taxi drivers and their companies.

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