Cab Driver Who Killed Cooper Stock Remains Eligible for TLC License

The cab driver who killed Cooper Stock is still eligible to be licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Koffi Komlani struck 9-year-old Cooper and his father, Richard Stock, in an Upper West Side crosswalk in January 2014. This week, Komlani pled guilty to careless driving and was sentenced to a nominal fine and a six-month suspension of his drivers license. Though Cooper and his dad were walking with the right of way, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance filed no criminal charges against Komlani.

The TLC opted not to renew Komlani’s probationary hack license when it expired last July — which, under current agency rules, means he could be re-licensed.

“We did opt not to renew, but legally, for all intents and purposes, it was still a simple expiration, and the law provides for the opportunity to reapply for a new license after an expiration,” TLC spokesperson Allan Fromberg told Streetsblog. “But if he were to reapply, he would be subject to a stringent fitness review, which would take his history fully into account.”

Komlani would not be the only cab driver to kill or seriously injure someone and remain in good standing with the TLC. The cab drivers who fatally struck Kelly Gordon and Timothy Keith, and the cabbie who severed the leg of Sian Green, to cite just three instances, reportedly retained their hack licenses.

The law adopted in Cooper’s name, which took effect last September, gives TLC discretion to revoke a hack license only if a cab driver is convicted of a traffic violation or a crime following a crash that causes death or critical injury. The TLC suspended the license of Uber driver Aliou Diallo after he killed Wesley Mensing and injured Erin Sauchelli in Manhattan last January, but reinstated Diallo after the sole charge against him, a ticket for driving without a license, was dismissed by the DMV.

Cooper’s Law was intended to get dangerous cab drivers off the streets. But with drivers who have killed people still eligible for TLC licenses, agency rules clearly need additional reforms.