Click on the picture to see a larger version.
Above: April, 1946 – the O'Connor family installed a protective wire screen in their cab. Below: April, 1946 – John McConkey of Adolph's Taxi showed off a plexiglass shield installed by a local manufacturer.
Source:
Top: "Taxi Men Instal Wire Screen To Fence Thugs," Winnipeg Tribune, April 22, 1946, p. 4. Bottom: "Bullet-Proof Shield For Taxi Demonstrated," Winnipeg Free Press, April 10, 1946, p. 1.
Winnipeg Cab History / 80
Murder and Mayhem (3)
The murders of Arthur Badger and Johan Johnson were not the first taxi driver homicides in Winnipeg. Louis Landy had been bludgeoned to death at the wheel of his cab in 1925, but Landy's murder was long forgotten by 1946. Two new killings, coming so close together, had a much deeper impact on people in the taxi industry and on the community at large. Nevertheless the deaths had little or no influence on taxi diver safety.
As the pictures at left show, the murders briefly sparked an interest in safety measures to protect drivers. However it was not until 56 years later, in December, 2002, that the Manitoba government made shields and cameras mandatory. The government initiative was spurred by the reaction of drivers and the general public to the murder of Pritam Deol in 2001.
Here is a list of Manitoba taxi drivers who were murdered while on the job. Click on the links for more information about each case.
- Mellissa Ivy Chaboyer (Thompson, November 26, 2005)
- Pritam Deol (Winnipeg, July 18, 2001)
- Dorion Simon (Flin Flon, March 31, 1994)
- Paramjit Singh (Winnipeg, September 27, 1989)
- Lawrence Peter Bembin (Winnipeg, January 9, 1987)
- Gurnam Singh Dhaliwal (Winnipeg, April 5, 1986)
- John Ivan McCaw (Winnipeg, January 26, 1980)
- Stanley James Hinks (Winnipeg, August 1, 1965)
- Johann (Jo) Johnson (Winnipeg, March 31, 1946)
- Arthur Badger (Winnipeg, September 28, 1945)
- Louis Landy (Winnipeg, October 25, 1925)
Sadly, as horrible as they are, homicides represent only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to violence inflicted on cab drivers.
For every driver killed, many more have had their lives turned upside down by disabling injuries and trauma.