The city calls him the cabby from hell.
Taxi driver Abubakarr Jalloh, 52, was beating more than the traffic when – in two separate complaints – Taxi and Limousine inspectors say the crazed cabby punched, kicked, hurled rocks, drove his car into and bit officers who tried to punish him for driving recklessly, cops said.
But last month the TLC bit back – and yanked the livid livery car driver’s license.
“This man’s actions put the lives of TLC officers at risk while in the performance of their duties, and we have taken the appropriate actions to ensure that he will never present such a risk to the passengers,” TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus said.
According to legal papers, inspectors allege they pulled over Jalloh in The Bronx on March 1, 2006, because he blew a red light and then refused to present his credentials.
The cops claim Jalloh got so mad he hurled a cinder block at them and then fled – leaving his car behind – when the officers attempted to pepper-spray him. Moments later, Jalloh came back and punched, and even bit, the inspectors when they tried to cuff him, according to the criminal complaint.
Jalloh adamantly denies the charges and says the only teeth marks he left on anyone’s hand occurred because he was punched in the mouth.
“They came up to my window and told me I took the red light,” he said through a translator. “I told them I did not take the red light.
“At first, I thought they were police officers. They tried to take the key out of the car, and one of them punched me in the mouth.”
But cops gave a very different account of the incident, and Jalloh ended up in trouble again seven months later.
In that Manhattan incident, inspectors claim they caught a ride with Jalloh and when they identified themselves as TLC officials, he took off so fast that one of the doors flung open, injuring one of them.
He eventually ran into another car, and he was arrested again.
In both cases, Jalloh pleaded guilty to assault and ended up on probation. But the Fulani-speaking former hack denies the allegations – despite his guilty pleas – and claims the charges are trumped up.
“How do I work when they took everything away?” he complained. “Right now, the case is finished. I was angry, but I forgot about it.”
Additional reporting by Laura Italiano and Denise Buffa