Bus drivers attacks passenger for asking about the next stop

[tippy2k2]

Employee snapped. There's really not much to discuss here as it looks pretty black and white from that video. Guy says something (it's hard to understand but it's pretty clear from his posture and the later stuff that it wasn't threatening or anything) and the bus driver goes nutter butters for whatever reason.

Bus driver will be criminally charged I'm sure and the victim will probably get a lot of money if he decides to press civil charges.


Video edited back in due to the OP getting a bad case of the banhammer:

 

[Epona]

Ok embedded. Thanks for the instructions.

I thought there might be some discussion here, I could be wrong though.

 

[tippy2k2]

Ok embedded. Thanks for the instructions.

I thought there might be some discussion here, I could be wrong though.

No problem. I certainly could be wrong and people will have something to say here. Maybe there's a piece of the puzzle we're missing but this situation looks pretty black and white to me but you never know; hence a thread

 

[madwarper]

Employee snapped. There's really not much to discuss here as it looks pretty black and white from that video. Guy says something (it's hard to understand but it's pretty clear from his posture and the later stuff that it wasn't threatening or anything) and the bus driver goes nutter butters for whatever reason.

Bus driver will be criminally charged I'm sure and the victim will probably get a lot of money if he decides to press civil charges.

Based on the little amount of video, I'd agree with you.

However, there's always the possibility that there's MUCH more to what happened here before the clip started.
One question I'd propose; In an otherwise empty bus (don't see anyone other than the driver and passenger), why is the passenger standing and not sitting in a seat?

 

[tippy2k2]

Based on the little amount of video, I'd agree with you.

However, there's always the possibility that there's MUCH more to what happened here before the clip started.
One question I'd propose; In an otherwise empty bus (don't see anyone other than the driver and passenger), why is the passenger standing and not sitting in a seat?

Well according to the OP, he was asking for information about the next stop (I can't hear well enough to verify that and the original YouTube page doesn't give that info but I'll take his word for it). That could explain why he was up there talking to the bus driver.

He could also just be a talkative fella and with no one else to talk to, he goes to talk with the driver and doesn't see the "I'm gonna snap and murder the next person who talks to me" signs that the bus driver was probably exhibiting before this

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

Well, then...that was a bit much wasn't it? With only the video to go on, it doesn't appear the passenger did anything wrong. It looks like he's just asking a question and then gets beat up and tossed out the door. I see this going very badly for the driver.

 

[madwarper]

Well according to the OP, he was asking for information about the next stop (I can't hear well enough to verify that and the original YouTube page doesn't give that info but I'll take his word for it). That could explain why he was up there talking to the bus driver.

He could also just be a talkative fella and with no one else to talk to, he goes to talk with the driver and doesn't see the "I'm gonna snap and murder the next person who talks to me" signs that the bus driver was probably exhibiting before this

Yeah, that's what he did in video. But, I'm sure the bus driver will claim, in his defense, that the passenger was antagonizing him prior to the clip.

Remember Little Zangief? Hopefully not, as that would work better for my analogy...

Imagine if you had only seen the second half of the video, you might feel sympathy for the little kid and say the big kid went "nutter butters for whatever reason."
Then, watch the full video.

Spoiler: Full video

Sympathy? Gone. Nutter butters? Yes, but with reason.

 

[tippy2k2]

snip

Oh most certainly. All we have to go on is this video and the assumption that we're not blatantly being lied to. After a bit of hard research and calling in some favors with top brass in Washington, I was able to find this:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hr_f0f0rxKaDUEIgLvO7hM9nMobA?docId=1c05ae1d189d41d39545da13d9d0af22

Spoiler: News article

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) ? Surveillance video shows a Nebraska bus driver who is accused of assaulting a passenger repeatedly punching the man before dragging him off the vehicle and leaving him on the side of a road.
Officials in Lincoln released the video Friday and announced 43-year-old Troy Fischer had been fired from StarTran Bus Service on Thursday, the Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/171Vt0G) reported. He has been cited on suspicion of misdemeanor assault in the March 23 incident.
The video shows Fischer communicating with the lone passenger. At some point, Fischer becomes agitated with the man, stops the bus and begins attacking him. The video shows Fischer punching the passenger 18 times. He then drags him off the bus and leaves him on the side of a road.
Miki Esposito, director for the city's Public Works and Utilities Department, said Fischer was initially suspended without pay after the incident. But he was fired after a disciplinary hearing that allowed him to rebut the allegations.
Esposito called Fischer's actions reprehensible.
"This type of behavior is not, cannot and will not be tolerated by the city of Lincoln," she said.
The Associated Press could not reach Fischer for comment Friday.
Esposito said the March incident began after Fischer notified his supervisor that he was having trouble with a passenger. The supervisor instructed Fischer to let the passenger leave voluntarily or call police.
"His directions were blatantly ignored," Esposito said. "He took matters into his own hands."
In the video, Fischer is heard telling his supervisor after the attack that he put the passenger off the bus and "it wasn't pretty."
Esposito said there were no red flags with Fischer, who had been a driver for StarTran for four years. He was warned once for a traffic violation, and he had a DUI case in 2004 that was dismissed.
Fischer was remorseful during the disciplinary hearing, Esposito said.
The newspaper reported that investigators have been unable to reach the man in the video, who provided an address and phone number to police on the day of the attack.

TLDR news source says: The bus driver went nutter butters for a unknown reason

It could be a grand conspiracy but it looks pretty cut and dry from everything we have available. As you said, there is a chance that there is more to this story but there's not much discussion we can have here since everything that we don't know is going to be assumption.

It looks like he is asking for help about the next stop but for all we know, the passenger was smacking him upside the head the entire time before the video.

 

[madwarper]

Spoiler: News article

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) ? Surveillance video shows a Nebraska bus driver who is accused of assaulting a passenger repeatedly punching the man before dragging him off the vehicle and leaving him on the side of a road.
Officials in Lincoln released the video Friday and announced 43-year-old Troy Fischer had been fired from StarTran Bus Service on Thursday, the Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/171Vt0G) reported. He has been cited on suspicion of misdemeanor assault in the March 23 incident.
The video shows Fischer communicating with the lone passenger. At some point, Fischer becomes agitated with the man, stops the bus and begins attacking him. The video shows Fischer punching the passenger 18 times. He then drags him off the bus and leaves him on the side of a road.
Miki Esposito, director for the city's Public Works and Utilities Department, said Fischer was initially suspended without pay after the incident. But he was fired after a disciplinary hearing that allowed him to rebut the allegations.
Esposito called Fischer's actions reprehensible.
"This type of behavior is not, cannot and will not be tolerated by the city of Lincoln," she said.
The Associated Press could not reach Fischer for comment Friday.
Esposito said the March incident began after Fischer notified his supervisor that he was having trouble with a passenger. The supervisor instructed Fischer to let the passenger leave voluntarily or call police.
"His directions were blatantly ignored," Esposito said. "He took matters into his own hands."
In the video, Fischer is heard telling his supervisor after the attack that he put the passenger off the bus and "it wasn't pretty."
Esposito said there were no red flags with Fischer, who had been a driver for StarTran for four years. He was warned once for a traffic violation, and he had a DUI case in 2004 that was dismissed.
Fischer was remorseful during the disciplinary hearing, Esposito said.
The newspaper reported that investigators have been unable to reach the man in the video, who provided an address and phone number to police on the day of the attack.

TLDR news source says: The bus driver went nutter butters for a unknown reason

Not quite. Emphasis mine.

The driver had reported that he "was having trouble with a passenger".
What trouble? We don't know since that's not part of the video.

Did the driver disobey the directions? Yes. Did he go out of bounds by physically removing the passenger, rather than call authorities? Yes.
Was this as black and white as you originally said? No.

 

[tippy2k2]

Not quite. Emphasis mine.

The driver had reported that he "was having trouble with a passenger".
What trouble? We don't know since that's not part of the video.

Did the driver disobey the command? Yes. Did he go out of bounds by physically removing the passenger, rather than call authorities? Yes.
Was this as black and white as you originally said? No.

Fair enough. I meant "he went nutter butters" based on what the Supervisor said but you are correct that we don't know the trouble. I have absolutely no clue what the passenger could have done to deserve what happened and him not fighting back points to him being the victim but we can not with 100% certainty say that he was the victim. I think I could say with 98% certainty but I'll sit back and let the justice system take it from here.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Not quite. Emphasis mine.

The driver had reported that he "was having trouble with a passenger".
What trouble? We don't know since that's not part of the video.

Did the driver disobey the command? Yes. Did he go out of bounds by physically removing the passenger, rather than call authorities? Yes.
Was this as black and white as you originally said? No.

Fair enough. I meant "he went nutter butters" based on what the Supervisor said but you are correct that we don't know the trouble. I have absolutely no clue what the passenger could have done to deserve what happened and him not fighting back points to him being the victim but we can not with 100% certainty say that he was the victim. I think I could say with 98% certainty but I'll sit back and let the justice system take it from here.

HK-47: "Calculation: 98% probability that the african american meatbag is telling the truth, and was unjustly removed from the motor vehicle."

Me: "And the other 2%?"

HK-47: "Calculation: 2% probability that the african american meatbag is just looking for trouble and deserves to be blasted. Although that may be wishful thinking on my part."

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

So an idiot let his emotions (for whatever fucking reason asking a simple question relevant to one's job is emotional) get the better of him and, as Tippy said, he snapped. I am sure he'll get fired and fined for it, as deserved.

The bigger question is why was the OP suspended? Low content? It seems a bit random.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Well, that wasn't pretty.
Maybe there's some part about this that would turn this whole thing around that we're not seeing but basing it simply in what I do see:
That was way out of line. That was seriously disgusting.
Once again, maybe there's an important piece that's missing but from what we have, there's what I think of it.

 

[madwarper]

The bigger question is why was the OP suspended? Low content? It seems a bit random.

OP was on Probation. OP made a low content post/thread. OP got a 3-day Suspension. How is that random?

Had the OP posted their thoughts on the video, rather than just "Here's a video. Discuss.", they'd have avoided mod wrath.

 

[SadisticFire]

Well that made me feel uncomfortable, so much to be desensitized to violence the media says.
I still doubt what ever lead up to this man snapping is a valid argument. It just seemed he was annoyed that he was asking questions, and decided to punch him and throw him out.

On the bright side, the victim is probably going to get large amount of money for a few moments of agony. And maybe a hitchhike home. Or cop car.

 

[Bernzz]

That video made me cringe. Seriously, what the fuck.

Even if someone is annoying you and asking the same question over and over, that is no reason to snap and repeatedly punch someone in the head. Someone who doesn't even fight back, I might add.

Ouch.

 

[NightmareExpress]

From what I can barely make out the passenger saying, it sounds like:
"Is this twenty third(?) street?"

To which the driver goes on a tirade about
"What did I say about asking questions?"
and goes on to initiate an attack.

Rather sickening behavior, to be honest.
Tells a lot about the person, too. I've known many who will yell, but I can't say that I know any who would continue to beat upon someone not fighting back for a good amount of time (well, unless they killed their family/pet or something). I feel sorry for this guy's wife and kids, should he have a family of his own. A rational individual would have notified the passenger that they have to get off at the next scheduled stop or the law enforcement would be called in.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Hey, you never know, he could have been asking "Are we there yet?" for the last half an hour, and when the driver said not to ask any more questions, he decided to be a smartass and ask him what the next stop was. In which case I would sympathise with the bus driver. I must say though, I think he had second thoughts around the time he started to drag the guy out of the bus, he did that fairly quickly and silently and then left. ^^

 

[Gitty101]

Well, I hope the bus driver enjoys the search for another job. People who can snap and inflict violence on those they're meant to be serving have no place in the public sector.

 

[AlexWinter]

Wow. That guy must have a tiny dick or a massive crush on his sister. I'd quite like to seem him flogged through the streets. Although that might be because I'm seeing it as a fat, straight, white American guy beating on a minority for asking a fucking question. Who made no attempt to fight back I might add. He must have hit that guy like 15 times after he was trying to protect himself. Flog him. Humiliate him. What a prick.