Man Arrested for Slapping Bus Driver

A man was arrested Tuesday morning for slapping a bus driver in the face near the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman.

Shortly after 11 a.m, the suspect and another man got on an off-duty bus which was about to go in to service to drive the 260 route down to the Blue Line station in Compton, according to MTA Spokesman Rick Jager.

The men had been drinking and refused to pay the fare, he said.  When the bus driver told them to get off the bus, one of the men slapped him in the face, Jager said.

They then ran off the bus into a local convenience store, where they were confronted by deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The man who allegedly attacked the driver was arrested at that point, Jager said.

The bus driver was not badly hurt and commenced driving the route, he added.

Sgt. Brett Hanson, of the Crescenta Valley Station, confirmed the encounter but said the department's Transit Policing Services handled the arrest.  Jager did not have the suspect's name as of 12:30 on Tuesday.