When someone climbs into a taxi, he’s usually in a hurry to get somewhere. There’s no time to give the tires a once over, inspect the interior, make sure the meter is working properly, and do a background check on the driver. But that’s OK, because Chattanooga police officer Chuck Topping takes care of those details before a cabbie ever hits the streets.
As the taxi inspector for the City of Chattanooga, Topping certifies all local cab drivers. And if the men and women behind the wheels of vehicles owned by Mercury Cab, All American Taxi, Millennium Transport, and more think he’s going to kick their tires and shake their hands, they’re in for a surprise.
“The application is about 10 pages long. The driver also has to take a DOT drug and alcohol test, and we do a TBI and a Hamilton County background check. If he passes everything, and if he has a valid driver’s license and insurance, then he has to pay a $10 fee, and the taxi board either approves or rejects him,” Topping says.
While most of the drivers Topping has run through the certification mill since he became taxi inspector in October have passed muster, he has encountered a few bad apples.
“When I started out, there were some drivers out there with revoked or suspended licenses, and some drivers out there with serious criminal histories. I talked with the owners, and got those people off the streets,” Topping says.
Despite the kink Topping can put in a cab company’s operations, he says the owners have been “good to work with.”
Like the drivers, the owners have to go through a yearly certification process that includes a background check, and requires them to submit all of their vehicles to Topping for inspection. While most cabs get his stamp of approval, he has taken cars with dirty interiors, dented fenders, and bald tires off the roads until the owners fixed the issues.
While Topping’s responsibilities seem clear cut, his job is not without its surprises. For example, when he stepped into the position, he was surprised to learn he was also responsible for horse-drawn carriages.
“The only thing I know about horses is they have a front end and a rear end,” Topping says, shaking his head. “Fortunately, the owner of one of the horses has been teaching me about them.”
While Topping might not have brought any equestrian skills to his new job, he does have 21 years of experience as a police officer backing him up. In addition to the uniform earning him instant respect with cab owners and drivers, he says the organizational skills he acquired over the years have come in handy as he’s redone all of the certifications to bring everyone into compliance.
“The previous inspector was a civilian, so he didn’t have a camera for taking pictures and issuing permits, and he couldn’t do background checks. So I decided to start over from the ground up,” Topping says.
While Topping is busy, being a taxi inspector is a dramatic change from what he was accustomed to doing. The veteran police officer spent his first 12 years on the force doing patrols. He then did a three-year stint in street crimes before putting in six years as a fugitive investigator. Also, for the last 20 years, he’s been a member of Chattanooga’s SWAT team. It’s been exciting, but grueling work.
“When I was in fugitive, we’d look for major felons, like murderers and rapists. And SWAT is great fun. We serve high risks warrants, like barricaded gunmen. But between that and my regular work, the overtime was out of control, and I was worn out. It was time for a change,” Topping says.
When the position of taxi inspector opened up, Topping applied for and got the job. While he had a few “What have I done?” moments early on as a result of going from being on the streets to sitting behind a desk, he says he’s enjoying the switch.
“Sometimes, I miss being out there, but then we’ll have a cold day, and I’ll be glad I’m in here,” he says, smiling.
Topping, who’s married, has three daughters, and has worked in law enforcement his entire life, may be more safety conscious than most civilians, so he hopes people will heed his advice before hopping into a cab.
“Make sure it looks like a legitimate taxi, and make sure the driver appears to be sober,” he says.
In general, though, Topping says Chattanoogans can feel confident that their cab drivers will get them safely to their destination.
“We have good owners in this town. They want to run a legitimate business and take care of their customers.”