San Diego police report that they are working to identify a man who has now been accused of spraying pepper spray at a bus drive. He apparently sprayed the bus driver in his face. The incident occurred after the driver had ordered him off of the bus.
Investigators stated that the incident happened on October 23. It would have been on a San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus just before the 5:00 PM hour. At around that time an unknown man would have boarded the bus on Cable Street. That street is located in the Ocean Beach area.
Officials reported that the man was sitting in the back of the bus. He allegedly then began to harass some of the passengers that were seated nearby. When the bus stopped on Broadway, the driver ordered the unruly passenger to get off the bus. The order was probably given to maintain peace on the bus.
Mass transit personnel have a duty to protect those individuals who are onboard their buses. As a result, bus drivers occasionally do order passengers off buses. Usually cooler heads prevail and nothing much happens.
However, officials reported that the suspect instead confronted the bus driver. He sprayed him in the face with pepper spray after confronting him. After this, he exited the bus and then fled the scene on foot.
The bus driver took some minor injuries to his face and to his eyes as a result of what could be considered assault in some situations. No passengers were actually injured in the incident, according to officials. Investigators have reached out to the public for more information.
They are looking for a man who is wanted for the unlawful use of a chemical agent. Investigators stated that there are several images of the man. These were captured on surveillance video. Police described the suspect as being between 40-50 years old. He is a six foot tall white male with a medium build. At the time of the incident he was wearing a black t-shirt with a Halloween theme that had an orange jack-o-lantern printed on the front.