City of Hamilton provides update on recent hate incident on Hamilton Street Railway (HSR)

HAMILTON, ON – The City of Hamilton is providing the public with an update on the recent hate incident that occurred earlier this week on a Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) bus after an investigation into what occurred.

With respect to the incident, the HSR bus operator followed policy and procedure. Due to their location on the vehicle and ambient noises while driving, the operator was not aware of the details or severity of the incident until it became public. The operator became aware of a possible incident immediately after it took place, when voices were raised, simultaneous to an individual exiting the bus. The operator then submitted the required reporting at the end of their shift, in keeping with procedure.

Video footage from the incident under investigation was captured and shared with the Hamilton Police Service.

HSR has been cooperating fully with the investigation to determine what occurred and the full details of the exchange between customers.

The City understands the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) has made an arrest related to this incident.

HSR has policies and procedures in place to ensure the health and safety of customers and the operator. All HSR buses are equipped with a two-way radio, an automatic vehicle location system and a silent emergency alarm system.

A person may be denied a ride on an HSR bus, or asked to leave the bus, if the person is offensive to either the operator or customers, or is disorderly, violent or rude. Where an operator encounters such a situation and/or has denied service or has had a customer removed from a bus, they are directed to set the capture of video footage on the onboard cameras, and complete and submit an incident report to supervisory staff immediately upon completion of shift. 

When faced with an unruly passenger who will not leave the bus, operators are directed to immediately seek assistance from supervisory staff, or directly from police as appropriate. In certain circumstances, the City may also employ other tools available, such as invoking the City’s Trespass By-law, whereby an individual may be banned from HSR vehicles and stations. 

The City also has many policies and procedures in place, such as zero tolerance policies for City facilities and services, to ensure Hamilton is a welcoming, equitable and inclusive community. We will also continue to ensure policies, procedures and processes are clearly communicated and adhered to, and where they aren’t, we will take the necessary action.

Those in our community who may be experiencing incidents of hate, racism or discrimination, there are supports available in the community. For more information about community supports or to report an incident, visit the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre’s (HARRC) website at www.harrc.ca or contact the Hamilton Police Service.

Following the incident, the City of Hamilton and HARRC met to discuss and reaffirm our collective commitment to making Hamilton a more welcoming, equitable and inclusive community, and discussed opportunities for improved processes, information-sharing and public education.

We will continue to work together to determine how we can ensure that families and individuals feel safe when using community amenities and services. These efforts will require ongoing, collective community action and collaboration across community partners and residents.