Cleveland, OH – If you’ve ever ridden a bus, then you know that sometimes a fellow passenger or two can get a little mouthy. Though most transit workers take this kind of thing in stride, one Cleveland bus driver lost his mind, decked an offensive female passenger, and tried to throw her off his bus.
A Cleveland bus driver has been suspended after a video of him punching a female passenger went viral, reports MSN . The woman in the video is seen clearly antagonizing the bus driver before apparently pushing him, causing him to declare “You going to jail now!” The bus driver stands up, violently uppercuts the woman, throws her off the bus, and grabs her by the hair when she tries to get back on. “She want to be a man, I’m going to treat you like a man,” he says of his unruly passenger.
A spokesperson for the Cleveland Transit Authority says that an investigation has been launched into the incident. “Upon identifying the driver, he was immediately suspended and removed from duty,” the CTA statement read . “His behavior is absolutely unacceptable.”
A quick disclaimer: In no way are we making light of violence against women or condoning the actions of the bus driver in question (who will likely lose his job over the altercation), but the video below definitely calls for a bit of dissection and a conversation regarding the lines between an unruly passenger and a vehicle operator. Though the bus driver absolutely crossed the line (even though it appears that the passenger crossed it first) and that is completely unacceptable, a bus driver’s job is to make sure that every one of his passengers makes it to their destination safely and bus “rules” are set in place for this very reason – to prevent distractions that could lead to tragedy.
Just a few things to think about.
Let us know what you think of the Cleveland bus driver who punched his rowdy female passenger. Was it a complete and inexcusable overreaction? Would you have done the same? Sound off!