Staffordshire Police have said they chose to offer a man who hurled disgusting racist and Islamophobic abuse at a taxi driver a “community resolution” – meaning that he had to write a letter of apology to his victim and pay his cab fare.
A video – originally filmed in August 2019 – emerged on Snapchat on Friday night and has since gone viral across Facebook and Twitter.
In the video, a man – who sounds like he is under the influence of alcohol – can be heard chanting “England Til We Die” before launching a barrage of racial abuse at the taxi driver.
He calls the driver a “f***ing f****t,” before demanding his money back and threatening to “smash his head in and take his taxi off him.”
He then says: “You’re getting terrorised by English people because you’re a dirty “P*** b*****d bruv. Dirty Muslim b*****d. P*** f*****s, I’ll take his taxi off him if he doesn’t take me home.”
The passenger then shouts at the taxi driver to give him a further £10 and demands to be taken to Cheddleton.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: “We’re aware of a video that has recently been circulating on social media involving a hate crime. This relates to an incident that was reported to us in August 2019 where a taxi driver was subjected to threats and abuse.
“It was dealt with at the time by a community resolution, which is a non-conviction route, it could have involved the victim having a letter of apology written to them, or the fare paid.
“The video has resurfaced and police officers have now spoken to the person involved about the ramifications of that. We have again spoken to the victim to check on their welfare and continue to offer them support. Hate crime will not be tolerated and we takes reports of such incidents seriously.”
After the video was shared extensively on social media, Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Gareth Morgan confirmed on Twitter that the incident would be investigated.
Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove MP Jonathan Gullis was also quick to condemn the “mindless; racist behaviour.”
He said: “Racism has no place in our society and I will champion all the good done by our local black and Asian community. These racists don’t speak for the people of Stoke-on-Trent.”
This isn’t the first time that the British police have appeared to be lenient towards perpetrators of Islamophobic abuse. Late last year South Yorkshire Police failed to prosecute a man and a woman who attacked two Muslim girls in Sheffield.
