Jennings flagged Ammar down in front of Ink48, a hotel on Manhattan's West Side, sometime before 11 p.m. after the banker said his car service didn't appear, according to the report.
The banker appeared "drunk," the driver said, according to court documents. Jennings said he drank "two or three Coors Lights" at a charity event he hosted before the party and "several more beers" at the party itself, according to his police statement. He told police he wasn't "highly intoxicated," according to the police report.
Jennings fell asleep during the trip, the driver said. Jennings never gave him his address and instead the driver woke him up as they neared the house.
After Jennings refused to pay and Ammar drove off with his passenger still in the car, Jennings pulled the knife and began stabbing him through the open partition that divided the front and rear of the cab, Ammar said. Ammar said he tried to defend himself by using his right hand to block the opening, and then pulled over and dialed 911 again, as Jennings got out and fled, police said.
Jennings said he never stabbed Ammar, according to his police statement. He showed the driver he had a knife after they pulled away from his house and Ammar cut himself in trying to grab it away, he told police.
Jennings never threatened to kill Ammar or told him to go back to his country, according to the banker's police statement.
The Connecticut hate-crime statute, signed into law in 2000, makes it a felony to cause or threaten physical damage to a person or to property with a specific intent to intimidate or harass a person "because of the actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of such other person."
In Connecticut, there were 243 arrests and 33 convictions under the statute from 2007 to 2011, according to Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, a spokeswoman for the State Judicial Branch office. Under the law, Ammar would also be able to sue Jennings for damages.
The case is State of Connecticut v. Jennings 12-0176761, Superior Court for the State of Connecticut (Stamford).