Kunsan Security Personnel Pummel Taxi Driver
Everyone in USFK is getting into taxi cab related incidents now, even the GNC employees:
Kunsan Air Base’s commander restricted all airmen to the base Monday after two Air Force police officers and a third American allegedly pummeled a local cab driver and tried to make off with his car early that morning.
Col. Jeffrey Lofgren, 8th Fighter Wing commander, also pledged a “thorough investigation†and “appropriate action†against those involved in the assault, according to a news release.
The 48-year-old driver, identified only by his surname of Lee, was treated for bruises at a hospital and released after the 1:30 a.m. attack in Kunsan City, South Korean police told Stars and Stripes.
Police said two of the suspects are two members of Kunsan’s 8th Security Forces squadron. The third American is a 23-year-old of Korean descent who works at a GNC health products store on base, police said.
The common misconception is that 2ID is the main source of taxi cab related incidents. Take a look who is committing taxi cab related incidents over the past year, I even included bus incidents:
Incident and Number of Soldiers Involved
Area 1
Bus Theft / OCT06 – 1 soldier
Uijongbu Bus Escape / SEP06 – 2 soldiers
Bicycle Hits Taxi / JUN06 – 1 soldier
Acosta Case / APR06 – 3 soldiers (Koreans later convicted for role in fight and an example that self defense laws do not apply in Korea)
Other Areas
Kunsan Taxi Beatdown / APR07 – 2 airmen, 1 US civilian
Taxi Cab Knifing / APR07 – 2 Waegwan dependents
MP Taxi Cab Assault / MAR07 – 1 Yongsan soldier
Assaulted Cab Driver / NOV06 – 2 Camp Humphreys soldiers
Kangnam Taxi Cab Assault / MAY06 – 1 soldier
As you can see the clear trend is towards taxi cab incidents being perpetrated by USFK personnel outside of Area 1. Another clear trend is the amount of MPs getting into trouble lately:
Incident and Number of Soldiers Involved
Kunsan Taxi Beatdown / APR07 – 2 airmen, 1 US civilian
MP Taxi Cab Assault / MAR07 – 1 Yongsan soldier
MP Sexual Assault / OCT06 – 1 2ID soldier
In light of all this I once again ask the question do MPs make the stupidest criminals?
You can read more on this over at Lost Nomad.
Yep… I sound like a broken record…
…but when you chase everyone out of the GI bar districts where there is less interaction with the locals and any problem can be quickly forgotten with restitution, you have to expect these problems to take place on a larger and more public scale.
Is there any benefit for USFK to trade off reduced paperwork incidents in the bar districts in exchange for major incidents in the newspaper?
Must be… they keep the policy.
Lockdowns just move the violence on base… where sexual assaults go up in proportion to frustration, hopelessness and low morale.
I wish somebody would tell me I am completely wrong, and show me why, so I could shut up about this.
J!
The lockdown at least on the surface seems a bit extreme especially since you don't hear much of anything happening down in Kunsan. Is one incident worth punishing everyone on the base for?
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Golly, gee-whiz! That's great! I often wonder, GI's, among others seem to have lots of problems with cab drivers… I wonder if the cab drivers ever do anything to precipitate this outpouring of frustrated anger.
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I hope this time the "problem" will be solved in a civilized way, whithout over reaction and with mutual respect.
I wonder if the AF Police and the GNC vitamin pusher would of attacked the "Coolest Taxi Driver" with his sound system and all….
"I hope this time the “problem†will be solved in a civilized way, whithout over reaction and with mutual respect."
I think you can pretty much kiss that pipe dream goodnight…on either side.
[…] [GI Korea] Kunsan Security Personnel Pummel Taxi Driver Published: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:47:27 +0000 Everyone in USFK is getting into taxi cab related incidents now, even the GNC employees: Kunsan Air Base’s commander restricted all airmen to the base Monday after two Air Force police officers and a third American allegedly pummeled a local cab driver and tried to make off with his car early that morning. Col. Jeffrey Lofgren, 8th […] Read More… […]
GeorgeW
"I think you can pretty much kiss that pipe dream goodnight…on either side."
I wonder if this the behaviour of avarage american people or just of those in Korea? For what I have seen untill now I think it´s restricted to Korea.
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[…] Humphreys, and K-16. On top of these incidents non-Area 1 personnel were also responsible for the Kunsan Taxi Cab Beat Down, along with the Taxi Cab Knifing in […]