A taxi driver in a state of emotional distress, who refused an order from PSP agents to move his vehicle, was arrested this afternoon, on Rua do Visconde de Anadia, in Funchal.
Witnesses to this incident reported that the taxi driver stopped his vehicle to drop off two tourists on the aforementioned street. As the passengers had no money, they asked to withdraw the money from the ATM at the entrance to the shopping centre. However, the stop went on for some time and the taxi driver himself got out of the car to hurry the customers through payment. Meanwhile, a PSP officer ordered the driver to move his car, which was blocking traffic on one of the two downhill lanes, on one of the busiest streets in the city.
The order was not well received by the taxi driver, who refused to move the taxi and behaved in a bad mood. In his anger, he took off his shirt and threw his mobile phone on the floor. He also challenged the PSP officers who approached him and ended up being arrested and taken in a police car to the Regional Command building, on Rua da Infância. Given the man’s emotional state, an ambulance from the Madeiran Volunteer Fire Department was also called, but it ended up not being necessary.
The taxi ended up staying parked on the street for a while longer, with the windows open and unlocked, waiting for a tow truck. The whole incident was witnessed by dozens of people, as the location is a stop for buses heading to the western part of Madeira and a transit point for several tourist attractions in downtown Funchal.