Video: Taxi dash cam, driver hailed for helping make arrest

Last Friday night, a local woman was walking down Polk Street, San Francisco, talking on her cell phone, when a man suddenly attacked attacked her, ripped the phone out of her hands and sprinted away.

As he headed down the street, he must have thought the heist had gone perfectly. What he didn't know was that new technology had captured everything on video. Quietly, taxicab companies in the city have outfitted roughly 700 cabs with "dash cams," video cameras that continuously record 180-degree shots out the front windshield.

Not only did a nearby cab record the suspect assaulting the woman, the Good Samaritan driver pulled over, picked her up and loaned her his cell phone to call police. The two tracked West to a bus stop while giving a police dispatcher a play-by-play account of his location. There is even video of police cars rolling up and officers making the arrest. Police say West has been charged with second-degree robbery.

The cabbie, whose name is being withheld for his safety, said he was a fan of the cameras from the beginning.

"It makes me feel much safer," he said. "And when the police check the chips, they can see what is going on. It's going to be very healthy."

"The video shows the crime happening in progress," said Officer Albie Esparza, "and we get a positive ID. It's beneficial to everyone."

ORIGINAL SOURCE

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