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VIDEO: GRTC passenger comes to defense of older woman bullied on the bus

Posted at 6:41 PM, Sep 09, 2014
and last updated 2014-09-10 07:15:08-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Cell phone video taken inside a GRTC bus showed the alleged harassment of a woman by another female passenger. The woman can be seen pulling the victim's jacket, grabbing her hat, and then putting it on.

"Give it back to her," a bus passenger can be heard saying.

The woman gave the hat back, but then she touched the victim's hair and arm.

That's when a man, who identified himself as an unarmed security guard, came to the victim's defense.

"How would you want somebody to put their hands on your mamma," he asked. "You wouldn't want that, right?"

From there, the two exchanged words.  Someone called 911 and police showed up.

​"I think they did right," said a man wanted to remain anonymous.

He said he was sitting at a bus stop across the street and watched the situation unfold.  He said at first it was tough to tell what was happening. but then he saw police come up to the back of the bus and escort the female off.

"I think about what will happen one day when I'm riding the bus," passenger Altonia Cunningham-Jones said. "And somebody just all of the sudden just grab me, like that lady."

Richmond Police said the woman involved in this incident would've faced a simple assault charge, but the victim decided not to pursue the charge against her.

GRTC has looked into the situation and said that because it's a police matter their agency is not commenting.