Metro Vancouver Transit Police and TransLink are investigating after a bus driver said he was threatened with a noose this week.
In a Facebook post on Friday (June 26), bus operator Ramgoat Buckaman said he saw “saw what appeared to be a noose” on his bus Wednesday.
“I didn’t really think anything of it and carried on accordingly as I didn’t want to make a scene over what could’ve just been a misunderstanding,” Buckaman wrote in the post.
However, Buckaman said the situation escalated when a passenger allegedly pointed out the noose and said it was “perfect for hanging.” Buckaman wrote that the passenger told him he should hang himself with the noose later that night.
“I froze, I literally froze, my heart sank, eyes popped open, heart was racing and I was sweating profusely…all while driving across Granville Bridge,” Buckaman wrote, adding that he was “dumbstruck” by the passenger’s words. “The bus got quiet, and absolutely no one said anything, it’s like nothing had happened.”
The bus driver said the passenger got off at the Broadway stop. Black Press Media has requested to speak to Buckaman.
In a statement, TransLink spokesperson Ben Murphy said the agency was aware the “deeply concerning incident” involving one of its bus operators, and that an investigation was being carried out by the Coast Mountain Bus Company and Transit Police.
“Racism has absolutely no place on our transit system and should not be tolerated under any circumstance,” Murphy said in an email to Black Press Media.
Transit police Sgt. Clint Hampton confirmed the investigation was underway but that police hadn’t yet heard from the bus driver.
“Any form of racism, hate, biases – the transit system is absolutely no place for them and if anybody is a witness to any type of event like this… to please contact transit police.”
To report a crime on transit in Metro Vancouver, anyone can call 604-515-8300 or text 87-77-77.
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