Bus driver assaulted while on route in northeast Winnipeg, man faces assault charge

A 39-year-old bus driver was attacked and threatened while driving in northeast Winnipeg Saturday afternoon.

Police say they saw a 29-year-old man assaulting the Winnipeg Transit driver shortly after 3 p.m. when they arrived at Grassie and Lagimodiere boulevards after receiving a report of an agitated man riding a transit bus.

Officers stopped the assault and arrested the man, who faces assault charges and an uttering threats charge, police said in a news release Sunday. The driver sustained upper body injuries.

"With any other assault, we're disgusted by the fact that the public and my membership have to put up with these acts of violence," said Chris Scott, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, which represents 1,400 transit workers, including drivers.  

Police said the man had demanded that the driver transport him to a street not along the designated bus route. The man then "became enraged" and started attacking the driver when he refused to do so, according to the release.

The driver stopped the bus, turned on his emergency equipment and opened the doors to let other passengers off. The man threatened to stab the driver and continued to attack him until officers intervened and took him into custody, police said.

Scott said assaults on drivers while they're operating a bus are one of the union's biggest concerns. He commended the driver in this case for being able to stop the vehicle and keep the people on it safe. 

"Without a safe transit system people can't get around, they won't board the bus and employees won't stay on the job," Scott said.

Scott said when transit drivers hear of one of their colleagues being assaulted, there's anger and frustration.

One of those points of frustration is the time it's taken for the city's new community safety team to get up and running, he said. 

The city's new community safety team, announced last year, was created in response to safety concerns on Winnipeg Transit buses. Its officers began training last month. 

The team's officers will use de-escalation techniques and won't have guns, the city has previously said.

"The community safety team is still on track to be out on the streets before the end of February," Scott said. "An exact date on which they'll be out and engaging in their new responsibilities is unknown at this time." 

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said there were no further updates on the implementation of the community safety team at this point and referred to a Jan. 10 news release which said initial training would take six weeks and that "officers will begin patrolling shortly after training."