Winnipeg Transit driver who was punched in face lives in fear of another assault, court told
CBC
A Winnipeg Transit driver who was punched in the face on the job goes to work every day afraid he'll be assaulted, a court heard Wednesday.
"He gets flashbacks to the incident when passengers start to get too disruptive on the bus," Crown lawyer Theresa Cannon said at a sentencing hearing for a 35-year-old man found guilty of assaulting the driver.
"He thinks to himself, 'Please don't let this happen again.'"
The driver was on his downtown route on Graham Avenue on July 20, 2020.
Court heard a passenger who was under the influence became erratic. When the driver asked the passenger to stop swearing, the man reached around the driver's protective shield and punched him in the face.
The driver's left eye was red and swollen for days. His vision was blurred, so he had to take four days off from work.
Court heard he has no permanent physical injury, but Cannon said the psychological damage continues.
"When it happened, he could not sleep that night and for a few days," she said.
"He didn't tell his family, as he said, 'They might tell me to quit. My kids would be upset and might be scared to get on a bus.'"
The 35-year-old man, who was found guilty in a judge-only trial at Manitoba provincial court, was given an 18-month suspended sentence Wednesday for the assault.
The sentencing comes a day after the city's infrastructure and public works committee approved work on getting public feedback about how to make Winnipeg buses safer. It will go to city council's executive policy committee for more discussion on March 16.
But the union for Winnipeg Transit drivers wants the city to go to bus operators first.
"They should approach the people who are firstly affected," said James Van Gerwen, vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505. He was in court on Wednesday in place of the driver who was assaulted.
"Engage the people who are fully involved in this — the front-line workers."
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