Two Aviation Police Bureau (APB) officers fired eight shots yesterday morning during the arrest of a ride-share driver suspected of illegally picking up passengers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the bureau said.
No one was injured by the gunfire. However, a passenger from Hong Kong the driver had collected was thrown from the vehicle during the incident, the APB said.
The passenger, identified as a woman surnamed Lee (李), was taken to Min-Sheng General Hospital in Taoyuan for treatment.
Photo courtesy of Threads user @ysx.tw_47
The bureau said the incident occurred at about 9:10am near the Terminal 1 passenger pickup zone, when officers from its Security Inspection Brigade spotted a rented white Tesla soliciting Lee.
Officers surnamed Hung (洪) and Chou (周) approached the driver, later identified as a 43-year-old repeat offender surnamed Tsai (蔡).
After being stopped, Tsai allegedly refused to cooperate and attempted to maneuver the vehicle away before Lee could close the door of the rented Tesla.
Lee was thrown from the car and narrowly avoided being run over as Tsai swerved to evade the police vehicle.
She was pulled to safety by nearby onlookers, the APB said.
During the escape attempt, Tsai nearly struck a responding officer and a police vehicle. He then accelerated in the opposite direction, prompting police to fire warning shots into the air before aiming at the Tesla’s rear wheels to disable it.
After eight shots were fired, the Tesla came to a stop. Officers then removed Tsai from the driver’s seat and arrested him on charges of endangering public safety, the bureau said.
For reasons of public safety, fair business practices and traffic management, it is illegal for any commercial or private drivers who are not part of Taoyuan International Airport’s licensed taxi fleet to solicit or pick up passengers.
Yesterday’s incident was not the first of its kind. On the evening of June 5, a Spanish tourist leapt from a moving car near Terminal 2 after the driver, suspected of illegally picking up passengers, attempted to flee from airport police.
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