District sorry after bus driver shows video

Edmonton Catholic Schools is apologizing for asking that a school bus driver be fired for handling unruly students and kicking a Grade 7 student off his bus 10 blocks early.

The apology comes after the driver released three clips from a video he recorded May 25 on board his bus, which shows the 13- yearold boy arguing with the driver and kicking and punching another student. A second boy, a 13- year- old Grade 8 student, also hit the driver from behind in the face with a large bag, the video shows.

“In light of the second video showing an assault on the driver, we realize we should not have requested the driver’s termination and have apologized to his employer,” district spokeswoman Lori Nagy said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.

The school district will also apologize directly to the driver, said the release. The driver faced threats of “physical violence,” said Laura Doroshenko, operations manager with Cunningham Transport Ltd., the company contracted to drive the route.

Throughout the video, the driver talks into his radio and to his passengers, at one point stopping the bus to go back to speak with them.

There is no audio in the driver’s video. The driver had a dispute with students earlier in the day over bringing hockey equipment on board, Doroshenko said. Hockey sticks and skates are normally banned, she said.

“They can be used as weapons, as the child did,” said Doroshenko, referring to the large bag.

The video ends with the driver throwing the arguing boy’s backpack off the bus, and shoving him out the door. The school district’s transportation guide directs drivers to only let students off at designated stops for safety reasons, the news release said. The two boys were suspended the following day and return to school Wednesday.