U.S. Soldier Claims Discrimination After Cab Driver Reportedly Kicked Him Out of the Car

A Nashville, Tenn., man claims he was kicked out of a cab over the weekend after the driver found out that he is a U.S. soldier.

Allen Pendley has been a member of the U.S. Army National Guard for the past six years; he's also a full-time student. When he took a bus trip from Clarksville to Nashville after a weekend of military training, he began looking for a cab ride home on Sunday.

But before Pendley, who was dressed in uniform, had the chance to flag a taxi, he claims a Yellow Cab driver pulled up and asked if he needed a ride.

The soldier claims he got in the car and that the driver quickly began asking questions -- and that's when the situation allegedly took a turn.

"He asked me -- he said, 'Are you in the military?' I said, 'Yes sir I am.' And then it got real quiet," Pendley told WTVF-TV. "Then when he pulled over he said get out of the cab."

After the driver dropped him off, the stunned soldier said he had to find another cab to take him home. Pendley, who served in Iraq in 2009 and 2010, said that he was stunned to be treated so poorly.

"Nobody should have to go through that," Pendley added. "It just makes me feel real bad and discriminated against."

Yellow Cab, the company the driver reportedly works for, told WTVF that the soldier's claims are being examined. Since Pendley didn't take a name or a cab number, President Doug Trimble said the company might need to look at GPS units to see which drivers were near the bus station at the time of the incident.

Despite the claim that the company is looking into the incident, WAFB-TV added, "Yellow Cab officials said it doesn't seem right, and if one of their cab drivers was anti-military, why would he pick up the soldier in the first place, since he was dressed in fully military fatigues."

If identified and the story checks out, the driver could be fired and might also lose his permit.

Pendley pledged to never take a Yellow Cab car again.

(H/T: WTVF-TV)

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Featured image credit: WTVH-TV

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