Jet Blue pilots accused of beating cabbie

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A cab driver was physically beaten by two Jet Blue pilots over the cost of a fare in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., police said.

Officers arrested 40-year-old William Hart Smith and 38-year-old Brad Leopard following the Aug. 12 attack on Miami cab driver Juan Martin, who suffered a broken ankle and a concussion in the incident, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Katherine Collins said Sunday's arrests of the two employees of the U.S. airline came weeks after the cab driver accused the men of responding violently to a $9 cab fare.

Martin told police that after picking Smith and Leopard at a Fort Lauderdale strip club on the night in question, they argued with him over the cost of a trip to a restaurant.

The cab driver added that when he confronted the men for his payment, they began kicking and punching him. A police report said a witness and surveillance footage from the eatery collaborate Martin's claims.

The Herald said the two pilots face two counts of theft and one of felony battery for the alleged attack.