Open Letter to Cobb Transit Officials Regarding Stabbing

The following letter to the editor relates to the suspension of Cobb County Transit bus driver Damian Harvey, who attempted to break up a fight and was . CCT officials said he was suspended for not following proper procedures.

I am disappointed in the decision to suspend CCT driver Damian Haney for attempting to restore order on Route 45. As someone who is a frequent passenger on that route and the CCT system over all, I commend Haney for trying to maintain order and sanity during the ordeal that occurred on Feb. 20.

For a transit system that transports nearly five million passengers yearly, I would expect the drivers to be able to be empowered to diffuse any situation that becomes a threat to the safety of other passengers and themselves.  The suspect, Taniesha Nicole Twyne allegedly pulled out a knife when she attempted to keep a cellphone belonging to another passenger.  This was occurring at a time where passengers were departing the bus and boarding the bus.  Luckily, the incident occurred with the suspect, theft victim and the driver without other passengers being in the way of harm.

During the ordeal, Cobb County Police and mall security were called to the situation and Ms. Twyne was arrested after she was subdued.  It’s unfortunate that Mr. Haney sustained injuries but I am glad they were not life threatening.  However, I can only imagine what could have happened if Haney would have followed your draconian policy of ‘staying seated and calling police.’  I have seen incidents on MARTA where passengers and operators had to step up and calm situations.

In Spring 2008, Nafiza Ziyad decided that she wanted to harass a passenger on MARTA train, which was videotaped by another passenger.  Not one MARTA police officer came and diffused that situation.  The civil rights community in their default position of defending, justifying and excusing criminal behavior tried to place the blame on everyone else except for Ziyad.  I anticipate them doing the same in this case.  Public transportation has a bad rep in Metro Atlanta and incidents like this do not assist in making the case for it.

Yes, the police should have been called and I am glad they responded when they did.  However, you should be reminded that every time a passenger steps on the bus, they are putting their lives in the hands of the driver.  The drivers do an excellent job of transporting passengers of various attitudes, backgrounds and whatnot without incident every day.  Like many occupations in the public sector, this is a valuable but thankless job.

As his supervisors, you should be thanking him for his heroic actions during this incident not suspending him with pay while you investigate. This is true inappropriate action and I question your so-called security procedures in place as I am passenger of your system. We simply cannot wait on police to protect us nor should be our only option. I think it’s time to review your policies and if action is not done, then maybe it’s time to boycott CCT since safety is not your priority.

I would like an explanation on how CCT will protect passengers and drivers in the future if said incidents like this were to happen again. 

Thanks for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response

Sincerely,

Dominique Huff 

CEO & Founder of the Tenth Amendment Media Group

Host of the Atlanta Community Affair LIVE every Wednesday at 8pm EST at www.exceptionalradio.com