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Detroit bus driver attacked after asking unruly riders to stop harassing a woman

Posted at 6:24 PM, Aug 19, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-19 18:24:07-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit Police are investigating the attack on a DDOT bus driver after he asked several unruly men to stop harassing a woman.

It happened Tuesday around 6 p.m. on Dexter Avenue near Tuxedo on the city's west side.

One of the men reportedly told the bus driver: "Shut the (expletive) up and drive the bus."

"We deal with a lot as bus drivers," said Reggie Glasgow. "A lot."

Glasgow said his friend and colleague at DDOT told the men they had to exit the bus if they weren't going to stop harassing the woman and settle down.

The men refused and began approaching the driver. Glasgow said that's when his friend said to himself that he wasn't going to be a victim and he got out of his seat as the men began to assault him, repeatedly hitting him in the head as he fought back.

Glasgow said the driver focused on one of the assailants when he pulled out a gun.

Police said as the driver tried to disarm the young man, the magazine came out and fell on the ground. The three young men eventually ran off.

It turned out to be a BB gun, but that doesn't matter in the eyes of the law when a victim believes a firearm is real and their life is on the line.

Detroit Police will be handling the investigation and reviewing surveillance video from the bus that shows the incident.

Glasgow just hoping the men are found and face felony charges and appropriate punishment.

"Whenever someone attacks a bus driver, they get a slap on the wrist," he said. "If it was a police officer, a mailman, even an EMT, you're going upstate to do two or three or five years."