Taxi driver abused by Brookline man

BROOKLINE—A Brookline man was arrested early this morning for refusing to pay taxi fare, assaulting a cab driver and smashing the cab window with his fist, police said.


Stephen Barber, 37, was found hiding in the attic of his apartment after a Town Taxi driver called police to report the incident, according to a report filed by Officer Robert Disario. The driver had dropped Barber, who is unemployed, off in front of his home at 148 Walnut St.

Police received a call from the driver, a Hyde Park resident, at 12:32 a.m., the report said. He told police he picked up the suspect at a bar in downtown Boston and drove him to Walnut Street. When they arrived, the driver told his client the fare was $22, the report said.

The man left the cab and began urinating on the sidewalk, the driver told police. After a few minutes, the driver got out of his taxi and approached the man, again telling him the fare. The suspect began yelling and swearing at the driver; then Barber pushed with both hands on the driver’s chest, and the driver fell, according to Disario’s report.

While the driver called 911 on his cell phone, he said the suspect punched the front passenger side window of the cab, shattering the glass. The man ran down the driveway and turned left behind an apartment building.

Police found a backpack and a set of Nissan car keys in the cab, which the driver said belonged to the suspect. Two Nissans were parked behind the apartment building, and police discovered they belonged to the Nissan Maurano by activating the key’s alarm button, Disario said.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles listed Barber’s wife as the owner of the Maurano, Disario said. He said he checked the names listed on the apartment building’s doorbells and rang the bell under the wife’s name.

Barber’s wife answered the door and told police her husband lived with her, but he was not home. She let police search her third-floor apartment, but they did not find anyone, Disario said.

However, Disario said he found a wet pair of men’s shoes with snow on the sides in the back stairway. Police checked the basement and did not find anyone. Disario then asked the wife if the apartment had an attic.

The wife led police to the rear stairwell. Disario said they went upstairs and he walked to the back of the attic, where there were piles of storage. He saw a knee sticking out from behind a piece of wood.

Disario said he walked closer and saw a jean-clad leg pinned up against a wall. The piece of wood was hiding a man who was sitting on the floor. Disario said he told the man several times to show his hands and come into the open, but he did not obey.
Police removed the wood, and the man was identified as Stephen Barber, who was not wearing any shoes, Disario’s report said.

Police put Barber’s shoes back on his feet and escorted him out of the house without a struggle. According to the report, as they were walking down the driveway, the cab driver said, “That’s the one. He did it.”

Barber’s wife told police she didn’t know Barber was hiding there, and she paid his cab fare, according to the report.