NYC Bus Driver Gets Physical With Woman Caught Smoking in Her Seat
- Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:29pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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A New York City bus driver may get applause from many for standing up to an inconsiderate passenger who decided to light up a cigarette during a ride last week. But now, the way he did it is being probed by the city’s transportation department, including an investigation into whether he took a cheap shot at the woman after he kicked her off the bus.
WNYW in New York obtained cell phone video of a woman smoking on a bus and refusing to honor passengers’ pleas for her to stop. That’s when the bus driver steps in and angrily, and forcefully, removes her:
The driver’s actions — especially a potential extra shove once the woman is off the bus — have prompted a reprimand from the city’s transportation department, the MTA.
WNYW explains:
Once off the bus, the situation seems to be over. But then the driver appears to take a jab while she is on the ground.
The MTA is reviewing the footage to identify and interview the driver. But the agency did say that the driver’s actions were inappropriate and that he should have contacted the bus command center to get help from the NYPD.




















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Comments (152)
EthanSD
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:30pmFirst, let me say I am pro-choice when it comes to smoking. If somebody, knowing it is bad for one’s health, still chooses to smoke, then that is their prerogative. Smoking only becomes an issue, when it affects other people, like smoking on a closed door bus. The woman, therefore, was in the wrong. Plain and simple. She deserved to get thrown off the bus.
Report Post »HOWEVER, the jab once she was on the ground, was excessive, and borders assault. At that point, she was out of the bus, and in no position to reenter the bus. But, I know adrenaline is flowing and she was probably angry and certainly full of adrenaline too. So, the manhandling, which many of these people said could have been their mother, was justified. Surely, nobody wants to hurt their mother, but that isn’t the issue. The woman was bothering other people and being resistant. If a cop were in the same position, and the woman refused to get up, he’d do the same thing. So, the force on the bus was acceptable. What would the alternative have been. Wait for a cop to come, which could be from 5-15 to 20 minutes. What if people missed bus connections, and had to be late to work, home, etc.
Moral of the story: obey the law, and have respect for other people or else you WON’T be shown respect either. As for the driver: Driver gets a written reprimand added to his file (no sarcasm), and he has to watch the How to Deal with People Safety Video (sarcasm there).
republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:45pmWhat a strange place to draw the line. He should never have touched her. Period.
Report Post »powedj
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:28pmIf the bus driver had a LAP DANCE, he wouldn’t have noticed a thing.
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:24pmoh darn. she should have been drinking instead…how silly
Report Post »greg
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:22pmyes and next time it will be because something was said that he didn‘t like or the majority of passengers didn’t like something said or done and it might be you or your family member thrown around like that i am not saying that something shouldn’t have been done but that is not in his job description the police should have been called bottom line
Report Post »rightwingheroes
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:20pmWhew close call, both black, i thought i was going to be called a racist again by Rev Al.
Report Post »rightwingheroes
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:19pmSecond hand smoke is deadly. The driver saved the passengers lives by throwing her off. Given response time of NYPD and other unperceived factors, it could have been too late by the time they got there.
Report Post »mdlwoods
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:39pmGive me one incident, just one, where someone died because of second-hand smoke. Just one. We have all been led down that belief path by an agenda that pushed and pushed and pushed that “fact” on us, but there has never been one example of someone who died from second-hand smoke. The research on that is the same as the research on global warming: twisted to fit an agenda. Now, the same holier-than-thous are starting on what we eat: no cokes, no sweets, no potatoes, etc. And a lot of people are swallowing it again. Soon, those of us who are left after we are starved to death, will be grazing in the pastures with the “protected” cows!
Report Post »hologram5
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:56pmYou sound like the global warming morons. Give us a break man. You get just as many carcinogens eating a hot dog.
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:06pmMdlwoods, you’re on a good roll, but I think the comment was intended as sarcasm. Funny too, Rightwing.
Report Post »GODSAMERICA
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:18pmRight, they got all these people riding that bus therefore they know what bus it is and yet they don’t know who the bus driver is? yeah – right
Report Post »banderashovel
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:17pmto stop all this nonsense the person simply needed to show his birth—–sorry i mean to say–put out the cigarette, all would have been fine..but no–he refuses,,no i meant she did not do that…
Report Post »ConservativeBeauty
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:12pmShe knew damn well there is NO smoking on the bus. People have the right NOT to smell her smoke …sheesh. How rude and crackwhorish of her to even say she’s not going to put it out. She got what she deserved. Poc
Report Post »mdlwoods
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:32pmQuestion: do you have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do? If I wish to smoke, then do you have the right to tell me I can’t, or where I can’t? Do I have the right to tell you that I am highly allergic, to the point of can’t breathe and have a severe asthma attack, because of your perfume? Or do I simply move away from you to avoid the perfume? This whole persecution of smokers has gone way overboard! Smokers are American Citizens, too. Smokers have the same rights as you have under the Constitution. There is nothing in the Constitution that says you have the right to place rules (some really ridiculous) and laws (some really ridiculous) on a certain group of people just because you don’t like to smell their smoke! Also, I am still waiting for one, just one, proven incident of where second-hand smoke caused a death. There are none. The “research” on second-hand smoke is just like the “research” on global warming. Twisted to fit one agenda.
That said, no, the lady should not have been smoking on the bus. A bus is a very closed in area and even I would not appreciate being closed in with a cloud of smoke. But, the bus driver should have been trained on how to handle that type of situation, surely! I am sure it would not have been difficult for him to take the cigarette away from her and toss it out the door! Then, call the police and wait til they got there!
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:39pm@Mdlwoods, You saved me the trouble. Thanks.
Report Post »Bluefish49
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:11pmMDLWOODS…..you are obviously a smoker….give it up…your wrong.
Report Post »krenshau
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 6:33pmmdlwoods, I do have the right to tell you what you can and cannot do, if you are on my bus. You don’t own the bus so you have no right to smoke. I sympathize as a former smoker, but property rights trump you smoking wherever you want. You can smoke on your own property, at least for now. That I will help defend you on.
Report Post »Hmschlmom
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 9:37pm@ MDLWOODS
http://www.scientistlive.com/European-Science-News/Medical/Killed_by_second_hand_smoke%3F/19725/
You wanted one death attributed to second hand smoke. There you go.
As a severe asthmatic…I say, boo hoo. Your right to smoke ends at my lungs. If you choose to endanger your own life, do it where it does not endanger mine. Other peoples pursuit of a nicotine fix has sent me to the hospital, several times, and I am sick of living in fear of other peoples public tobacco habit.
Report Post »Bluefish49
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:06pmThank God the driver was also African American or we’d have to listen to Al for the whole week.
Report Post »ENTITLEMENTSBLOW
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:16pmAmen, I’m so tired of Al! I wonder if he would say anything if it was a white Lady!! Just kidding, I know he wouldnt say anything!
Report Post »EnoughBS
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:21pmBluefish, SOO true!
Report Post »wisehiney
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:05pmSUE the union, give them a taste of their own medicine. Let’s all sue each other to oblivion.
Report Post »Cliff
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:39pmI am filing a brief against you right now wisehiney… your blatant disrespect for my rights is abhorrent!!! and leave my oblivion out of this… whats an oblivion???? LOL just kidding!
Report Post »Ialmostforgot
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:01pmStupid, stupid lady, but we know this cuz she smokes. This can’t be a union bus driver. I’m sure extracating passengers is not in his job description. That would be another union position. Oh, wait, the police are union aren’t they?
Report Post »bikerltoo
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:59pmIt is called defiant….maybe she had done it before.
Report Post »jjufon
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:58pmit’s all part of the bigger scheme; Gov needs to reduce “health” issues because it is one providing the care.
see, once they control the health care, they will then control what we are allowed to eat, when, etc.
we are seeing this already, however it will get worse.
i see these wanting to eat items off the gov menu, having to pay a premium. “we cannot afford the strain it will put onto the gov health care system” the president was quoted as saying….
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:58pmShe gets a ticket and the bus driver get charged with assault and battery and fired.
Report Post »Must be cabin fever up north.
mdlwoods
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:32pmNo, fellow Texan, just PC and liberalism run amok!
Report Post »ENTITLEMENTSBLOW
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:56pmI love how some people dont think that rules apply to them. How ignorant..
Report Post »Bronco II
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:52pmIf he was getting a LAP DANCE he wouldn’t have seen her LOL.I‘m a smoker and she should obey the law but he doesn’t have the right to put his hands on her.To the stupid woman thanks for bringing more grief to us smokers who do obey the law.
Report Post »Racemosa7
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:50pmA very selfish woman, and quite rebellious. I wonder what the rules of engagement are?
Report Post »Spinolio
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:47pmJust wait until you‘re caught eating McDonald’s, Twinkies or food with trans-fats.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:55pmOr salt
Report Post »EnoughBS
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:19pmWe laugh now…
Report Post »loggs14
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:46pmSounds like good old LAW SUIT time! Don’t get me wrong the lady was a goober and needed off the bus and maybe prosecuted for disorderly conduct, but LEFTIES, u can’t rough people up cause they do not bow and kiss the democratic ring….
Funny the left acts like smoking is all evil but they are the first to push for smoking weed, hmmmmm… principles I guess…..
Report Post »mdlwoods
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:24pmYeah, I can’t wait until they legalize marijuana and then lets see what happens to the first person to light up a joint on a bus or in a public place! Bet no one pays any attention!
Report Post »Veritas
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:45pmIt has become the norm to treat smokers as if they are second class citizens and anything that is done to them is acceptable. If she had only been shooting up heroin, then everyone would have ignored her and acted like they didn’t see it.
Report Post »drawls
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:14pmVeritas, You are 100 percent correct. Crazy isn’t it !!
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 5:05pmOr joined in. If she had been smoking “crack” everyone would have boo’d the bus driver. Can’t win
Report Post »ANTIFA
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 8:59pmWell, in all fairness, if she would have been shooting heroin she wouldn’t have been bothering anybody but herself.
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 10:21amI agree, and even if it was an E-cigarette, the same would’ve happened to her…
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:39pmTypical knuckle head thinking the rules are for someone else. What should have happened is the police were called and knuckle head would have been removed and given a ticket, but then again she would have never paid the fine anyway.
Report Post »Ellie
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:38pmDon’t most MTA (public transit operators) have their own security force that is specifically tasked with dealing with unruly/non-paying passengers?
Clearly the driver should have called and waited for them to show up.
Report Post »st0l1
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:32pmUnfortunately you cant hear what the lady said to the guy…I bet she said something that warranted ejection from he bus. He should have crushed her pack of Newport too.
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:36pmHe threatened do do just that. Right before he threw him off himself.
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:37pmHer
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:35pmThat anti-smoking law and enforcement is tough in New York. Not to worry though, someone will blame Sarah Palin with the target map, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Jared Loughner for it.
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 10:13am@YOUGOTTABEKIDDING… You gotta be kidding… Attempted murder ? I‘m sorry to hear that you’re a cancer survivor but, attempted MURDER ? Ok, Tell me or any court/jury that the person that gets cancer on the bus was caused by this womans cigarette .?? Yeah, have fun with that one…
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 10:19am@ YOUGOTTOBEKIDDING..Or rather I am HAPPY to hear that you‘re a cancer suvivor as in I’m sorry that you got cancer in the first place but am happy that you’ve beat it..
Report Post »I just want to clarify, because the way it looked, it seemed that I was happy that you got cancer and that was not at all what I was trying to say… Cheers..
Cobra Blue
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:30pmAnother quality news story….thanks….Unions good…people bad.
Report Post »Old Truckers
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 2:56pmThe smoker was disrespectful to everyone one that bus. Her disrespect caused her to be thrown off the bus. The fault is her own. Give the bus driver a raise.
Report Post »obamanation
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:06pmI smoke as much as Obama, but she shouldn’t do that. What’s the difference between the driver and the cops kicking her out? The cops would’ve done the same thing.
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:31pmThe difference is that he is not a cop. This is assault, pure and simple. Any trained police officer could and would have handled it better.
Report Post »Cliff
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:33pmI agree… what is the difference between a cop throwing her off the bus or the driver doing it… (all the riders should have done it) he should get a raise and all drivers should be trained how to throw law breaking, non compliant people off the bus as well… Cops are too busy dealing with enough crimes in the city then having to deal with stupid ignorant people like this woman… and the one person that said… “That could have been my mother.” well tell you mom not to smoke on the bus and she wont get her butt thrown off like this one did!!!
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:39pmCan you say LAW SUIT? Nice way for a loser to make money, huh? And you bet she’ll be getting plenty of calls from those sleazy lawyers! Have you notice how many more ads play on TV promoting litigation lawyers? Goes along with the power source in Washington!
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:43pmAre there any WHITE people available to interview in NY? The MTA is only validating her claim to sue NY, now. The other scenario, wait on the cops? He waits, lady gets off bus, never to be found, like the bus fight that was on here last week.
Report Post »She be abough da louw. She smoke anieghweys she wount.
A white bus driver putting a black woman off of a bus on MLK day, a liberal reporter’s dream.
Old Truckers
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:47pmrepublitarian,
The police may have handled it in a more professional way, but the bus driver handled it quickly and was able to get the passengers to their destination on time. If he had to sit there and wait for the police to arrive, who knows how long that would have taken. And in the mean time, the stupid woman would still be there blowing smoke at everyone. Give the driver an award!
Report Post »WhatTheHuh
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:50pmHas anyone noticed the frequency of these stories? More and more we are hearing (and seeing) these stories about people openly defying authority or committing acts of violence that are always recorded. And it’s usually in poorer neighborhoods. This has become somewhat of a cottage industry: create a disturbance and record it for YouTube so you can make a quick buck; or even better, do so and get a public employee involved and if they act inappropriately (ironically) sue the city and get some “go-away, nuisance money.” Next phase: wait for the news of a lawsuit.
Report Post »Old Truckers
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:54pmWhatTheHuh,
If she sues, the driver and all the passengers should counter-sue, for her assault toward them.Let us remember, she is the criminal here, not anyone else.
Report Post »click4cheapandeasyweb
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 3:55pmI can see by some of the comments today that the pacification of Americans is still in full swing. Bus Drivers, like many that have to put up with the public sometimes take just so much and they finally say “enough” and take matters into their own hands. She was a loud mouthed pain-in-the-ass that refused to listen to him so he threw her off the Bus. I say good! From what I can tell, he did not hurt the woman and took care of the problem with very little drama. He’s the type of guy I want with me in the trenches.
I long for the days when we could tell the men from the women.
grandmaof5
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:02pmDo I smell an oily lawyer slithering up to offer his services, no charge unless they settle? Wait, he’s coming, he’s coming…she probably hadn’t gotten home before he/she ran her down with “get rich quick” offers (was it John Edwards?).
Report Post »No1YaKnow
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:02pmHe was right to ask her to leave, but stupid and out of line to grab her.
Report Post »Blacktooth
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:27pmAnyone who causes a disturbance on a bus, needs to be THROWN OFF, period.
Report Post »Why should I, or anyone else have to endure her obnoxious behavior?
It is time we end all this “Oh, I can’t show any hostility to this ignorant person” I might be viewed as intolerant somehow.
yougottabekidding
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:39pmAs a cancer surviver (try it you’ll like it) I feel anyone that smokes around some one that does not smoke: should be tried for attempted murder. That driver is my hero up to the point of, if he did strike her.
That being said if he gets charged or diciplined, that passenger should be charged with the smoking charge and for defient tresspass, he told her out or off and that should come from the bus company. She did break the law!
One quick question . What the heck does unions good have to do with this??
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 4:58pmI can‘t believe what I’m hearing here.
Would it also be appropriate for a carny who catches someone smoking on a ride? He had no authority to do that. No one does.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 5:53pmREPUBLITARIAN, she has no right to invade the air space of those around her with her smoke either. He should have called the disturbance in, but didn’t so that falls on him, but when she wouldn’t extinguish the cigarette she should be removed before the situation escalates.
Report Post »krenshau
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 6:28pmAs a representative of the bus company, he is given proxy authority to control who can and who cannot be on the bus based on company rules. If a person refuses to leave, they are trespassing and can be forced off the bus by the owner or company representative. They don’t need to wait for the police, the same way if someone car-jacks you or breaks in your house you don’t have to wait on the police to remove them. The passengers could also have made a citizens arrest.
Report Post »LadybugsTX
Posted on January 17, 2011 at 11:43pmWhen did we get to a place where people are defending someone who puts their hands on another person? This woman did a bad thing for sure. The cops should have been called, this woman removed (by law officials) and arrested or fined depending on the law. But we should NEVER allow someone putting their hands on another to be allowed. That’s the problem with our world today. If you don’t like BP, it’s ok to vandalize a station. If you don‘t like someone’s politics, it’s ok to call them names and talk ugly about them in public. If you don‘t like or agree with someone’s behavior it’s all right to take it upon yourself to stop them. When did it become ok to abandon civility toward another human being because you don‘t like them or you think they’re wrong.
The sad thing is? I think the people who are defending this man are probably the same people who would be screeching “police brutality” if a cop had done exactly what the bus driver did.
Report Post »Chet Hempstead
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 1:23amkrenshau
Report Post »If it was a private bus, you’d probably be right. Since it was a city bus and she was breaking a law, he’s technically supposed to let the cops handle it. Of course, that would put him so far behind schedule that he wouldn’t have time for a cup of coffee or bathroom break in between trips for the rest of his shift, so I can understand his frustration. If he hadn’t taken that one last shot after he threw her off, it would probably be no big deal.
BSdetector
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 8:06amThe bus driver solved the problem quickly and efficiently, then got the passengers to their destination in a timely manner.
Report Post »I for one, am sick of the entitlement mentality of so many people ( including the pansy #sses they interviewed) who think they can do whatever they want because (gasp!)”you cant put your hands on me!”
demint.disciple
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 10:04amSoon enough Al not so Sharpton will be hailing this woman as Rosa Parks… Standing up for her right to Smoke anywhere she damn well pleases..
Report Post »Rules, what rules ? Laws, what laws.. ? Another sign of the times…
David
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 12:10pmGreat comments, here. This driver deserves a medal. Finally, someone out there with the backbone to stand-up for the rules.
Report Post »Look, it’s pretty simple, you either adhere to the established rules of a civilized society or, you are forbidden from participating.
In this case, what do you half-wits think the cops were suppose to do? The driver just accomplished the objective without involving anyone else, thereby eliminating the ‘middleman’.
My hero for the day.
If that were, in fact, ‘your mom’ , then she should be removed from the bus by whatever means necessary. If she refuses, that means unceremoniously tossed to the street.
By ignoring the rules and refusing to get off the bus, the smoker also became a trespasser, subject to an immediate arrest.
Newsflash; The rules of a civilized and advanced society actually apply to YOU….whether or not you consider yourself civilized.
We need more folks like this driver, and a lot fewer complainers with their endless excuses.
jbl8199
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 2:25pmThey were BOTH wrong. She shouldn’t have been smoking on the bus, and the driver shouldn’t have laid a finger on her because now he can get sued.
Report Post »Old Truckers
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 2:30pmDavid,
Bravo! I’m glad to hear I am not alone on this subject.
Report Post »Old Truckers
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 2:36pmjbl8199,
Report Post »Yeah, that is a great reason to ignore doing what is right, you could be sued.
Too many people have that opinion and look what we have today, we have these individuals that go around making life unpleasant for everybody and no-one has the grit to call them on it. Is that what you want the next time you get on a bus? What would John Wayne do?
Disabledvet
Posted on January 18, 2011 at 3:09pmGive the driver a raise and a couple days off with pay, for doing what needs to be done, most AMERICANS are tired of people that think the rules do not apply to them. Of course if she is black we will have to hear from Jessie and Al and NAACP on how she was treated, BAN the BI%%h from using the buses for ever let her walk.
Report Post »Hollow
Posted on January 19, 2011 at 2:53amUnions were good in the past. Now there so powerful they can all go on strike and make everyone who uses the buses suffer. Although buses are a waste of money were I live the mostly drive empty.
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