The angry head of the taxi driver’s union said the arrest of repeat offender Austin Amos in the beating death of cabbie Kutin Gyimah should be “a wake-up call for all elected officials and all New Yorkers.”
“We’re either going to end this or continue allowing recidivists to keep coming out and doing as they please,” Fernando Mateo said, speaking on behalf of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers and Gyimah’s family. “Do we want our city back, or do we want New York City to turn into New Orleans or Chicago?”
Amos, 20, was one of three people charged in the Aug. 13 attack on Gyimah in the Rockaways and is𒉰 alleged to have delivered the fatal blow to the 52-year-old father of four.
Gyimah chased Amos an𒆙d other passengers after they bolted without paying the fare.
Amos was charged with manslaughter and gang assault Thursday and sent to jail without bail.
He had been arrested 10 previous times, including for robbery and sexual misconduct, and he’s listed by the NYPD as a “robbery recidivist,” sources told The Post.
“I think it’s time to realize that these repeat offenders have no cure. They need to do time to reflect on what they did to their victims,” Mateo said. “Stop considering the rights of the criminals above the rights of the victims. Once they committed a crime, they lost their rights. In this case, they took someone’s life.”
In a statement shared by Mateo, Gyimah’s widow Abigail Barwuah did not address the recidivism issue, but did note the ages of his attackers.
“My husband, my best friend, the father of my 4 children was taken away too soon at the hands of children,” the text said. “I forgive them, but there must be justice, I pray for them as well as for the soul of my husband.
“New York City was the city of hope for my family when we came from Ghana but that hope was taken away last week,” the grieving widow continued, adding thanks for all of those who have donated to the family’s , which has raised nearly $192,000.
Gyimah’s brother, Richmond, was more blunt about the repeat offenders. “Nobody wants criminals mingling with the public who work and pay taxes,” he said. “Law enforcement should look into the whole thing again and see if they could do something about it.”
