New York groups want a federal hate crime probe into the alleged assault of a Muslim cabbie after charges were dropped against the banker accused of slashing him.
According to the Darien Times, in Darien, Conn., all charges were dropped this morning against Morgan Stanley banker William Bryan Jennings after officials said it was not in the public interest to press charges.
In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced today that they will ask federal investigators for hate crime charges instead.
Cab driver Mohammad Ammar says that last December, Jennings allegedly refused to pay his $204 fare and then cut him with a pocketknife.
According to the New York Post, the cabbie recounted that a drunk Jennings screamed “go back to your own country.”
Patch reported that prosecutors said today that part of their decision stemmed from the cabbie not immediately handing over the knife, part of evidence, to investigators.
Jennings was arrested and charged with assault, larceny and intimidation with racial slurs, according to CAIR. He pleaded not guilty in March.
