Man beaten, pulled off city bus

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This article was published 03/04/2024 (549 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 27-year-old man was punched in the head and pulled off a Winnipeg Transit bus in a random attack Tuesday evening.

Kevin Leclair, 56, said his son, Troy Leclair, was taking the No. 14 bus home from work when another passenger assaulted him at around 6:30 p.m., near St. Anne’s Road and St. Mary’s Road.

“All of a sudden, some guy just walked up to him and started punching him in the head,” said Leclair. “After punching him for a bit, my son was close to the back doors, so he started grabbing my son and pulling him down the aisle a bit and out the door, and started wrestling with him again.”

Troy broke free and ran to the front door of the bus. The driver let him back in and shut the door as the attacker ran off.

Leclair said the attack on his son, who is on the autism spectrum, lasted for about 30 seconds.

He said Troy had been keeping to himself and playing a video game before he was targeted.

“He never bothers anybody,” said Leclair. “He sees this stuff happening all the time… but you never expect anything crazy to happen to your own kid.”

Troy’s jaw is sore and his body is scraped and bruised, said Leclair, who manages two community centres in south Winnipeg.

He said he’s concerned about random violence and disappointed by the response of Winnipeg police because a 911 dispatcher told his son to call the non-emergency line instead.

Leclair said he called the non-emergency line three times himself, but no officer had shown up by the time he spoke with the Free Press Wednesday.

“I’ve dealt with police with the community centre, and nothing ever happens,” said Leclair. “It’s just brutal, cops not showing up. I kind of figured something like that would happen.”

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said Wednesday police are in the process of taking a formal report.

“I know there was some frustration and we understand that. We absolutely sympathize (and) we’re doing our very best to take that report,” said Michalyshen.

Police respond to the most urgent calls first, the spokesman emphasized.

“If all parties are safe and OK and are being attended to by in this case (the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service) and there’s no suspects still on scene — the incident has concluded. (It) has happened and is over with,” said Michalyshen.

“It does lower the priority, but it doesn’t lower the importance… however, there can be other higher priority calls simultaneously.”

Six weeks ago, a new safety team began patrolling high-priority bus routes following demands to boost safety on the Transit system.

When he ran for mayor in 2022, Scott Gillingham vowed to bring in such a team.

The provincial government has pledged $5 million to fund the team, while the city has promised to keep it operational until 2027. It is expected to cost $2.5 million this year.

The city recently said the team responded to 464 incidents between Feb. 20 and March 25. The figure includes the number of times an officer patrolled a bus, well-being checks, substance-use incidents, disturbances and medical events.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca