A Metrobus driver was arrested by the transit agency’s police department, charged with kidnapping a passenger and accused of keeping her on a bus for some 30 minutes.
Michael Eric Robinson, of Capitol Heights, was arrested Saturday after an argument inside the bus escalated on Suitland Road and Regency Parkway in Prince George’s County when a rider took a photograph of the driver, according to Metro and the union representing him.
The arrest, plus several other high-profile cases of Metro employees photographed while apparently doing wrong on the job, has prompted Metro to take a “comprehensive review” of its disciplinary procedures and penalties, the agency said Wednesday.
But the union representing train operators and bus drivers is angered by the review and the arrest.
“We will fight it tooth and nail,” said Jackie Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689. “The review and his case also.”
Jeter blamed Metro for encouraging riders earlier this month to take pictures of employees who are misbehaving, saying such acts threaten drivers, causing such situations to escalate.
“I don’t think anyone would want their picture taken,” she told The Examiner. “I am appalled that any employer would give the riding public open season on their employees.”
In this case, the woman and the driver had been arguing when the woman photographed him, saying she was going to report him, according to Metro and the union. It was not clear what they were initially arguing about.
The bus driver called transit police around 2:28 p.m., according to Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates, saying he had an unruly passenger aboard. He pulled over the Route D14 bus, as is allowed.
Once transit police arrived, they interviewed the driver, the woman and other passengers, then decided to arrest Robinson.
Gates said he kept the woman on the bus for about 30 minutes; Jeter said the transit police took a long time to respond. Jeter said Robinson did not kidnap her, saying he never prohibited anyone from getting off the bus. “The lady cursed him out, called him all kinds of names,” she said.
Robinson was placed on paid leave while the case is being investigated, Gates said. He was hired in June 2007 and has been driving a Metrobus for nearly two years. He hung up the phone when asked for comment Wednesday.
