Justice For Saleem Osman

Yellow taxi cabs lined up for a Lease Drivers Coalition protest

CAAAV Digital Archive

Yellow cab drivers, many of whom were immigrants and of South Asian descent, faced significant physical danger during the 1990s as the result of their chosen profession. Nationally, cab drivers of this era experienced the highest rate of on-the-job homicides, with New York leading well ahead of other major urban areas. Crimes against cab drivers escalated to nearly 60 reported robberies and 1 murder per week. A significant portion of the violence experienced by cabbies working in New York City came from the hands of the NYPD, who consistently engaged in aggressively hostile behavior toward drivers and utilized racist and anti-immigration slurs to insult and belittle them [1].

The rise in police-based violence inflicted upon cab drivers is exemplified in the story of Saleem Osman, a CAAAV organizer for the Lease Drivers Coalition, an organization dedicated to demanding safer working conditions, medical benefits, fair hearings with the Taxi & Limousine Commission, and better pay for cab drivers. On May 26, 1994, Osman drove to 33rd Street and 6th Avenue after being called to help mitigate a dispute between a Pakistani cab driver and a white truck driver. There, he was confronted by plainclothes officers from the Transit Police and the Midtown South Precinct who yelled out: “There’s no black mayor anymore. You better watch out,” and “Go back to your own country.” The officers, who never identified themselves, proceeded to drag Osman out of his cab by his hair and clothing and subsequently beat him. This resulted in injuries to his head, neck, legs, and wrists that required medical attention. Osman was then arrested on the fabricated charge of assaulting two police officers and resisting arrest [2]. 

Over a hundred Asian Americans and yellow cab drivers marched from Police Plaza to Central Booking in protest of this unlawful arrest on May 27. During the protest, participants played the drums and carried signs written in English, Chinese, Korean, and Urdu containing messages such as “South Asians Demand End Police Brutality,” “Not Your Target,” Saleem Osman Was Attacked By Cops! We Demand Justice,” and “Stop Asian Violence.” After 24 hours in police custody, Osman was released, due in large part to the demonstration and a CAAAV organized media campaign. [3].

Osman and his laywer Michael Deutsch, the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights

CAAAV Digital Archive

CAAAV argued that the long delay in reaching a decision along with the unreasonable demand of an apology to the perpetrators “were face-saving measures for the NYPD” intended to discourage community organizers in the future from opposing police brutality [5]. The decision also exposed the DA office’s complicity with the police and its abuse of power. To the displeasure of the NYPD, Asian Americans did not stop protesting acts of police brutality. On the contrary, CAAAV’s membership continued its organizing efforts for many years to come. 

 “This was truly a people’s victory and a tribute to the organizing success of CAAAV and its supporters” [6]