2 drivers, supervisor assaulted in multiple Winnipeg Transit incidents: police

Four separate incidents on Winnipeg Transit buses Thursday led to the arrest of a man, 52, and a 35-year-old woman, who police say assaulted Transit employees, and in one case threatened to kill one of the workers.

The two arrests are not connected withthe same incidents.

The first happened around 2:45 p.m. Thursday, when a Winnipeg Transit driver stopped their bus mid-route at Notre Dame Avenue and Sherwin Road because a male passenger was acting belligerently, swearing and yelling on the bus, according to police.

The driver tried verbally to calm the man down, which didn't work, so a supervisor was called to help, Winnipeg police said in a Friday news release.

The supervisor askedthe man to leave the bus, but before exiting the bus, the passengerspat on the driver. Once outside, the man ripped a windshield wiper off the supervisor's vehicle, police say.

Then, around 5:45 p.m., the same man boarded a different bus without paying. He once again behaved belligerently, police say, andthe driver asked him to get off the bus near Vaughan Street and Portage Avenue.

As he was leaving, the man spat on the driver. Police were called and he was taken into custody.

Officers took the man tohospital for a precautionary medical assessment.While there, the man threatened to kill one of the Transit employees he assaulted, according to police.

The52-year-old,who is from Winnipeg, was charged with two counts of assault, one count of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and one count of mischief under $5,000.

Woman threw syringes at supervisor: police

Police also say a 35-year-old woman was arrested Thursday, after two other Transit incidents that day.

Around 3:15 p.m.,the woman began actingerratically on a bus,forcing the driver to stop at the Garden City terminal and ask for help from a supervisor, police say.

The supervisor tried tode-escalate the situation when he arrived, but the woman became agitated, according to police.

She threw numerous objects at him, including her personal belongings, unused syringes, a backpack and a carrying case. The supervisorwas hit in the face twice, police say.

She fled the area, but was arrested after another incident later that day.

Around 8:25 p.m., officers were called with a report of an intoxicated personcausing a disturbance on abus near Main Street at Pioneer Avenue.

A Transit supervisor had been called to the scene, as the bus could not continue its route. Police who arrived found the woman acting erratically, and arrested her, the Friday news release said. They then determined she had been involved in the earlier Garden City incident.

The 35-year-old Winnipeg woman faces charges of assault with a weapon, police said.