COTA fires driver after assault of passenger

What entirely was said to cause a Central Ohio Transit Authority bus driver to brutally assault a passenger in late April is not known.

But COTA on Tuesday released video of the incident and called the actions by Jaleel Palmer, the 30-year-old driver, “inexcusable” and said he had been fired.

A source close to the investigation, but not authorized to speak publicly, said that Palmer had said he was threatened.

The Dispatch on Tuesday requested a copy of the internal investigation, Palmer’s disciplinary history, the number of drivers fired for similar misconduct and other records.

COTA did not immediately release any of them.

According to Franklin County Municipal Court records, Palmer was charged in 2015 with domestic violence, eventually pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

He was accused of twice punching his then live-in girlfriend in the face. That was about a year before he was hired.

COTA said that fair labor practices require that only convictions, not criminal charges can be considered in hiring, and that disorderly conduct would not be disqualifying.

Palmer is facing felony assault charges for the April 26 attack that sent Nelson Ward, 63, to the hospital with a broken jaw and other injuries.

Palmer was arrested on May 17 and is scheduled to appear in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court on June 9 for an arraignment hearing.

According to an affidavit filed earlier this month in Franklin County Municipal Court, Ward had fallen asleep while on an eastbound bus in the King-lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood just after 4 p.m. on April 26.

The area was near the end of Palmer’s route near East Livingston and Champion avenues.

That’s where Ward said that he asked Palmer for directions and that both men exchanged hostile words, according to the affidavit.

Ward eventually exited the bus that had stopped near North Champion Avenue and East Long Street.

That’s when Ward told police that the verbal altercation continued after Palmer had left the bus and that as he was walking away, that Palmer “swings a haymaker that landed against Mr. Ward’s face,” knocking him to the ground.

According to the police affidavit, bus surveillance video shows Ward being kicked and beaten by Palmer who then walks away.

“Mr. Palmer continues his assault on Mr. Ward while he was down, delivering six additional blows to the head and back plus two head stomps while Mr. Wards head was on the curb,” according to the affidavit.

Before the attack, Palmer and Ward were the only two on the bus. Others witnessed the assault outside and came to assist.

COTA spokesman Jeff Pullin said that Palmer was immediately put on leave once the video had been reviewed. COTA released this statement: “COTA is shocked and horrified by the April 26 incident involving a COTA operator attacking a customer. The operator has been terminated, and we extend our deepest condolences to the victim. This incident does not reflect the hundreds of hardworking and courteous COTA transit operators who provide a valuable service to our communities every day.”

COTA is bound by the bus system’s contract with the Transport Workers

Union Local 208.

Jarvis Williams, the union president, said that Ward “has been a frequent problem,” on bus routes, according to drivers, but he did not deserve to be attacked so brutally even if Palmer felt threatened.

“It seems like (Palmer) got triggered,” Williams said. “There’s a whole lot of people carrying a whole lot of trauma with them.”

Williams said that the union has been trying to add a self-defense clause into its contract, in part because drivers increasingly feel under siege.

“Sometimes when you try to de-escalate, you put yourself in the middle of a situation,” he said.

“Doing nothing is the safest way to keep your job.”

Pullin said that COTA has several procedures in place to protect drivers, call for backup and not endanger themselves by intervening.

He also defended the screening process for new hires, especially given that COTA faces a shortfall and recently held a job fair to find recruits.

“If you pass your drug test and background check and your interview, you have every right to be considered a candidate.”

dnarciso@dispatch.com