Passenger charged in streetcar altercation
A video of the TTC passenger and two officers was posted online.
Toronto police have laid three charges in an altercation between a TTC passenger and two special constables after the jarring video was posted on Twitter.
Police are not releasing the name of the passenger who is facing two counts of uttering threats, two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of failure to leave when directed, under the Trespass to Property Act, Sgt. Murray Barnes said.
The video, posted Friday morning by another rider, shows a TTC special constable tussling with the man, who is seated on the 501 Queen streetcar, while another constable attempts to spray the passenger with a white, foam substance.
The 12-second video leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what happened before the recording started and after it abruptly ended when the person who recorded the melee left the streetcar.
“Let me make this clear, what you have seen on video is eight to 12 seconds of an encounter that’s over four minutes long,” Barnes said.
The new TTC streetcars are equipped with “high definition cameras all over them,” and the full incident is being investigated, Barnes said.
“The incident occurred during a routine fare inspection,” TTC spokesperson Hayley Waldman told the Star.
“The altercation involving two TTC special constables took place after they were approached by several customers on board the vehicle who had concerns.”
Waldman didn’t divulge what those concerns were, but the TTC was investigating.
CUPE local 5089, the union that represents special constables and fare inspectors, issued a statement Saturday supporting the actions of the special constables involved.
“We fully support the actions of our members and that the level of force used falls well within the parameters of the Provincial Use of Force model. This is the standard in the Province of Ontario.”
TTC CEO Rick Leary issued a statement: “I am aware of the incident that occurred (Friday) morning on the Queen streetcar that is now on social media. I want to be clear that I am taking this issue very seriously.
“I have given direction to initiate an investigation by an external party.”