CRIME ON THE 21
Recently I drove route 21 that goes down Lake Street, which is the main east/west street in Minneapolis. It goes all the way into downtown St. Paul.
I was pulling up to a bus stop and saw what I thought was three guys goofing around. Turns out it was a mugging in progress. I opened the door right in front of the guys and the guy getting mugged grabbed his cat-in-a-carrier and jumped on the bus. One of the muggers looked right at me and he and his buddy started walking away. A couple ladies got on. One said she was so glad to see me and the other said she was getting ready to run just as I pulled up.
I asked what was going on and they told me the guy with the cat just got mugged. I asked if he was ok as I called the Control Center. BK (the lady with the dog in the carrier that rides the bus all the time) was there and tried to get him to talk to police. The guy refused all help. He said he was fine and didn't need an ambulance and all they got was his cell phone so he didn't want to make a report. (Must not have a contract plan...Must buy minutes and have been almost out!) Since he refused all help, the transit police weren't even dispatched to the bus. I told the control center that I had caught them on tape because I had opened the door right in front of them as they were mugging the guy. (There is a camera over the drivers head that films as people get onto the bus. It catches everything in the line of the door and actually films quite a distance from the bus.)
They refused to pull the tape since the guy refused all help. The REALLY stupid part is that I was told I still had to make a report in case someone called and said I didn't offer help!! More reason to pull the tape as I see it.
Further down the road on the same trip, a squad car flew past me with no siren..Just lights flashing. He pulled into a gas station. I noticed the lights were out in the parking lot of the station and there were about 2-3 more squads in the lot. I was talking to some passengers and we came to the conclusion they must have just been robbed. Seems we were right, since the lights were all back on and it looked like business as usual as I passed it on my trip back.
On the trip back, I also had a little drug deal go on right in front of me. I glared in the mirror at the one guy that was passing something across the aisle to another guy. It was folded in a magazine. He told the other guy to "Look at this cigarette". How stupid did he think I was??? I looked him in the eye (through the mirror) and said "Don't do that on the bus...On CAMERA" He said "Sorry, my bad" I continued to drive and when I looked in the mirror again I see the other guy passing him money. Really, the only reason I didn't call the cops is because I didn't actually SEE the drugs. I wasn't sure if the video had caught it either.
I settled for putting a little scare into both of them as they got off. First the purchaser got off at his stop. I told him to save his deals for when he was off the bus. I told him it wasn't very bright to commit crimes on government property and on camera. He apologized and got off the bus. A mile or so later, the seller was getting off. I told him I was very close to calling the cops on him and that he didn't know how lucky he was. There were quite a few witnesses AND a camera that caught the whole thing and he shouldn't be doing something so stupid on a bus. He seemed so happy that I didn't call the cops he thanked me and said it wouldn't happen again. What an idiot. I should have called the cops and let them figure it out! I'm sure they both would have had drugs on them.
Next time...For sure.
I was pulling up to a bus stop and saw what I thought was three guys goofing around. Turns out it was a mugging in progress. I opened the door right in front of the guys and the guy getting mugged grabbed his cat-in-a-carrier and jumped on the bus. One of the muggers looked right at me and he and his buddy started walking away. A couple ladies got on. One said she was so glad to see me and the other said she was getting ready to run just as I pulled up.
I asked what was going on and they told me the guy with the cat just got mugged. I asked if he was ok as I called the Control Center. BK (the lady with the dog in the carrier that rides the bus all the time) was there and tried to get him to talk to police. The guy refused all help. He said he was fine and didn't need an ambulance and all they got was his cell phone so he didn't want to make a report. (Must not have a contract plan...Must buy minutes and have been almost out!) Since he refused all help, the transit police weren't even dispatched to the bus. I told the control center that I had caught them on tape because I had opened the door right in front of them as they were mugging the guy. (There is a camera over the drivers head that films as people get onto the bus. It catches everything in the line of the door and actually films quite a distance from the bus.)
They refused to pull the tape since the guy refused all help. The REALLY stupid part is that I was told I still had to make a report in case someone called and said I didn't offer help!! More reason to pull the tape as I see it.
Further down the road on the same trip, a squad car flew past me with no siren..Just lights flashing. He pulled into a gas station. I noticed the lights were out in the parking lot of the station and there were about 2-3 more squads in the lot. I was talking to some passengers and we came to the conclusion they must have just been robbed. Seems we were right, since the lights were all back on and it looked like business as usual as I passed it on my trip back.
On the trip back, I also had a little drug deal go on right in front of me. I glared in the mirror at the one guy that was passing something across the aisle to another guy. It was folded in a magazine. He told the other guy to "Look at this cigarette". How stupid did he think I was??? I looked him in the eye (through the mirror) and said "Don't do that on the bus...On CAMERA" He said "Sorry, my bad" I continued to drive and when I looked in the mirror again I see the other guy passing him money. Really, the only reason I didn't call the cops is because I didn't actually SEE the drugs. I wasn't sure if the video had caught it either.
I settled for putting a little scare into both of them as they got off. First the purchaser got off at his stop. I told him to save his deals for when he was off the bus. I told him it wasn't very bright to commit crimes on government property and on camera. He apologized and got off the bus. A mile or so later, the seller was getting off. I told him I was very close to calling the cops on him and that he didn't know how lucky he was. There were quite a few witnesses AND a camera that caught the whole thing and he shouldn't be doing something so stupid on a bus. He seemed so happy that I didn't call the cops he thanked me and said it wouldn't happen again. What an idiot. I should have called the cops and let them figure it out! I'm sure they both would have had drugs on them.
Next time...For sure.
posted by Jeanne Ree at 10:47 AM
2 Comments:
No wonder you like your job so much...stuff like that NEVER happens in my studio.
Maybe I'll get a chance to ride on the bus with the famous ROADEO PRINCESS when I get up there in December!
Cheers!
WOO HOO!!! A real COWBOY on my bus!! What a treat!
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