Another Metrobus operator has been arrested on the job, this time accused of fighting with a rider over a fare early Friday, the transit agency said.
Vento Mickens, a veteran with more than 23 years at Metro, was charged with simple assault while operating the route 71 bus, said Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato.
The fight occurred about 5:30 a.m. with a male customer near Georgia Avenue and Van Buren Street in Northwest D.C. as the bus was headed to Buzzards Point, Asato said. The two were fighting over the rider’s fare, she said. Metro transit police charged Mickens with simple assault; the rider was not arrested, she said.
Mickens was placed on administrative leave while the transit agency investigates the case and will be tested for drugs and alcohol as is standard following any incident.
His case was just the latest of Metro workers getting into trouble. Last week, a Metro track worker was charged with public drunkenness and impeding police in the Pentagon City station hours before reporting for duty.
In April, three Metro workers were arrested in connection with separate incidents that occurred while on the job, including a Metrobus operator accused of pulling a knife on a motorist, another accused of soliciting an undercover cop for prostitution, and a MetroAccess driver charged with a third-degree sex offense.
Last year, the transit agency pledged to tighten both its hiring practices and employee disciplinary policies after other arrests made the news, including the case of a Metrobus driver socking an off-duty cop dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog.
The agency fired that driver, but, as The Washington Examiner first reported, it was forced to reinstate him following an arbitration ruling this spring. He returned behind the wheel on Wednesday.
