The Chicago Transit Authority said Thursday that two employees have been removed from their jobs after a video surfaced that appears to show a bus driver picking up another person from behind and slamming him to the ground during an apparent altercation with the other worker.
While the brief clip appeared in recent days on social media, the source of the viral video and the surrounding circumstances remain unclear. The video has drawn a swift rebuke from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who called the video “incredibly disturbing” during a Thursday press briefing.
In the video, a CTA bus is stopped in the background as an employee in a blue shirt appears to square up to fight with the unknown male. The other employee, who appears to be a bus driver, then walks into the frame, picks the male up from behind and slams him directly onto the pavement.
“What the f - - - you on, bro? You better get your a - - home, boy,” the employee apparently says after delivering the body slam, which appears to have been captured by the driver of a vehicle in the area.
On Thursday, CTA officials declined to release the identities of the employees who have been placed on leave.
“CTA is aware of the video and is investigating the circumstances surrounding it,” the transit agency said in a statement. “We find this incident deeply disturbing and have removed the involved employees from service, pending the completion of our investigation.”
During Thursday’s news conference, Lightfoot confirmed the probe and told reporters that she had personally watched the video.
“It’s incredibly disturbing to say the least, both the physical conduct of somebody who looks like they’re a CTA employee [and] the words that were spoken,” Lightfoot said, adding that CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. is “very well aware” of the video.
However, Lightfoot noted that officials still hadn’t determined when exactly the incident happened.
“It looks like it may have been recently, but the CTA is actively working to understand the circumstances [and] identify … the employee,” she said. “And if it is truly a CTA employee, then I’m confident that President Carter will take the right action in addressing that employee’s conduct, which is clearly unacceptable.”
Contributing: David Struett
