Winnipeg police make arrest in bus beating caught on tape
WARNING: Graphic content - Police release video of Winnipeg Transit driver beaten by man
A 23-year-old man has been charged in connection to a brutal assault on a Winnipeg Transit driver.
The assault, which happened in mid-September, was caught on the bus security camera and showed a man repeatedly striking the 50-year-old man who was driving the bus.
Police originally released photos of the suspect, but when those didn’t yield an arrest, they released the full video on Wednesday.
The video, which was viewed more than 40,000 times within 24 hours of its posting, showed a violent attack that lasted between two and three minutes.
Bystanders eventually came to the rescue of the driver, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries. One of those people, a man, was also assaulted by the suspect, police said.
Thanks to tips from the public, a suspect was identified, police said.
On Thursday, police announced they made an arrest in the case. And on Friday, they announced the charges and named Dwight John Stevenson as the suspect.
Stevenson was arrested Oct. 31 after police responded to an assault in the 200 block of Selkirk Avenue. Two men had been drinking and got into a fight when Stevenson allegedly grabbed a bat and hit a 45-year-old man.
In addition to the assault charge related to the attack on the bus driver, Stevenson has been charged with aggravated assault in connection to the bat incident on Selkirk.
Stevenson has been detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.