US: Portland taxi driver ‘violated rights’ of lesbian couple by abandoning them on motorway
A Portland regulator has found that a taxi driver violated the civil rights of a lesbian couple, by abandoning them at the side of a motorway last year.
According to PQ Monthly, the Bureau of Labour and Industries ruled that there was “substantial evidence of an unlawful practice”, after Broadway Cab driver Ahmed Egal ejected lesbian couple Kate Neal and Shanako Devoll from his cab last July
Senior Investigator Jeremy Wolff found that it was the same-sex affection shown between Neal and Devoll that led to Egal to kick the couple out, , leaving them at the side of Interstate-84.
The complainants alleged that the driver had yelled that it was ‘not OK to be gay in his cab’, and that he left them at the side of the motorway after the incident.
The investigators found “no substantial evidence” of unlawful practice from Broadway Cab, as Egal was an independent contractor.
The driver had his taxi license revoked last August, after the City of Portland found that his actions “constituted a threat to public safety and convenience.”
A statement from the Bureau of Labour and Industries said that they will now decide whether to bring formal charges against Egal.
