Taxi Driver, Dash Cam Help Capture SF Phone Thief
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) - San Francisco's Luxor Cab installed dashboard cameras to record any accidents and settle auto liability incidents, but the technology recently helped catch a cellphone thief on the streets of San Francisco.
The cameras offer a 180 degree view out of the front window, but they weren't intended as a crime fighting tool. That's where a helpful driver stepped in.
The camera in one vehicle, operated by a driver who did not want to be identified, recently captured a young man violently rip a phone from the hands of a woman walking in San Francisco. The alert Luxor driver pulled over and picked up the victim, called police, and trailed the criminal.
Those actions were instrumental in solving the crime.
"It made us very proud, very proud of our driver," said Luxor Cab President John Lazar. "He went above and beyond."
Officers arrested 20-year-old Brandon West of San Francisco and charged him with second-degree robbery.
