The benefits of having a diverse police force were on display Friday morning after a Hindi-speaking Regina cab driver was robbed.

At around 5:15 a.m. CST, some police officers were just leaving headquarters downtown when they got called to the 1800 block of Osler St. — about a block away — where there was a robbery in progress.

They learned the driver had been filling a tire on his cab using an air compressor when the suspect tried to reach inside his vehicle.

The suspect didn't get any money but grabbed the air compressor and took a swing at the cabbie. Then he took off on a bicycle.

When police arrived, the driver was running down the street trying to chase the thief, who got away.

Police wanted a statement from the driver, who was having difficulty explaining in English what happened.

By co-incidence, one of the officers spoke Hindi, so the victim was able to give his statement in that language.

The case remains under investigation, police said.