Spitting, yelling, throwing syringes: Two people arrested after Winnipeg Transit assaults

Winnipeg police were called to two separate incidents regarding a pair of allegedly unruly bus passengers Thursday.

Officers were first called to a report of an assault on a Winnipeg Transit driver around 5:45 p.m. in the downtown araa.

Investigators say a man who had gotten on a bus without paying was asked to leave at a stop near Vaughn Street and Portage Avenue. The suspect became belligerent, police say, and spit on the driver as he was getting off the bus.

Police say the same suspect had also spit on a different transit driver earlier in the day, after, they allege, he started yelling and swearing while on a bus that was forced to stop near Notre Dame Avenue and Sherwin Road around 2:45 p.m.

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In that incident police say the man ripped a windshield wiper off a transit supervisor’s vehicle after exiting the bus.

A suspect was arrested following the second incident at a downtown bus shelter.

Police say the suspect was taken to hospital for a precautionary medical assessment, and allege he threatened to kill one of the previous victims.

A 52-year-old man is charged with two counts of assault, mischief under $5,000, and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

Supervisor assaulted: police

Then, around 8:25 p.m., officers responded to a report of an intoxicated woman causing a disturbance on a bus stopped near Main Street and Pioneer Avenue.

They say a woman found “acting erratically” was taken into custody.

Investigators say she too had been involved in a previous transit-related incident earlier in the day.

Police say the same woman had caused a disturbance on a bus which was forced to stop at the Garden City terminal around 3:15 p.m., due to her behaviour.

Investigators say the woman became agitated when a transit supervisor was called in and threw a number of objects at him, including her personal belongings and unused syringes.

They say she threw a backpack and carrying case at the supervisor, hitting them in the face twice, before fleeing the area.

The supervisor was not seriously injured.

A 35-year-old woman is charged with assault with a weapon.

Increase in transit assaults

The union representing Winnipeg Transit employees has said an increase in assaults on buses this year is leading to a shortage of drivers.

Earlier this month Amalgamated Transit Union head Romeo Ignacio said the city had lost 150 drivers this year, and the recent rise in violence is a contributing factor.

In 2020 there were 90 assaults on transit drivers reported, while 92 were reported in 2021.

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There were already 107 assaults on drivers reported in Winnipeg this year when Ignacio talked to Global News Nov. 9.

“We’ve lost a lot of people through early retirements because they can’t take on the risk anymore,” Ignacio said at the time.

“We lost a lot of people from resignations, especially the newer ones. You know, when they start driving after their training, they see all this, they hear all this. And, you know, a lot of them say ‘this is not what we signed up for.’”

— with files from Amy-Ellen Prentice