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The AC Transit Bus fight is a viral video clip of an altercation between a 67-year-old man and a younger man aboard a bus, which took place on Monday, February 15, 2010 close to 3:00 P.M. local time in Oakland, California.
A video of the confrontation posted on YouTube soon went "viral" and as of February 21, 2010 has received 2.7 million views on various blogs and websites. It ranked among the top 5 most viewed videos on YouTube in its first week, but was not included in the official list. Numerous racially-charged comments were left on the YouTube page. The event raised concerns following a number of previous incidents involving violence on the public transport system in Oakland.
Details
Incident
The incident took place on a downtown Oakland Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District bus, and involved a black male, identified only as Michael, and an older white bearded man identified as Thomas Alexander Bruso, who later came to be referred to as "Epic Beard Man".
Bruso is seen wearing a blue T-shirt that reads "I am a Motherfucker" on the back. He exchanges words with the younger black male before moving to a seat at the other end of the bus. The verbal sparring continues and the black male follows him to the front of the bus. Some riders did try to discourage the black male from attacking the white man. Other riders on the bus encouraged the black male to attack the seated white man, who retaliates with several quick blows causing facial injuries. Bruso is then escorted off the bus, and then continued to rant about the fight and kick a newspaper dispenser, which was filmed in a separate video.
Both men were hospitalized for their injuries. Bruso also underwent psychiatric evaluation at John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro.
Blood on bus seats can be seen in the posted YouTube video, but short of a woman screaming "He's leaking", nothing seems to have been done about it for the duration of the video. Buses do not generally carry the cleaning supplies necessary to disinfect a seat after such an incident; this puts all passengers at even greater risk of contracting disease from their fellow passengers.
Responses
On February 17, 2010, Iyanna Washington, the woman who filmed the bus fight video posted her own perspective on the events as a response video on YouTube, and refuted charges that she stole the man's bag after the altercation. She also appeared in a CBS video interview giving her version of events.
Thomas Bruso was interviewed by KRON in San Francisco on February 19, 2010. He was also interviewed by YouTube user doghousefm.
Thomas Bruso
Bruso has a history of run-ins with the police, and a video past. According to his interview with KRON, Bruso states he served fourteen years in prison for selling drugs and pimping after serving in the Vietnam war. He was stunned with a Taser at the Oakland Coliesum by police in August 2009 for failure to comply with the officers. He was charged with resisting arrest and was taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. The incident was filmed and uploaded to YouTube.
References
- Gomez, Cina (February 17, 2010). "Fight Breaks Out In AC Transit Bus". Thaindian News. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - "AC Transit bus fight unnerves commuters in California". The Daily Caller. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Gay, Mara. "Racially Charged Fight on Oakland Bus Gets Even Uglier on YouTube". AOL News. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- Farrell, Michael B. (17 February 2010). "Fights on public transit: Oakland bus fracas is latest flash point". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ doghousefm (20 February 2010). "AC TRANSIT BUS FIGHT-- Interview w Tom (Epic Beard Man) & Parody Song". YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
{{cite web}}: External link in|author=|publisher=(help) - ^ "Witness: Oakland Bus Fight Racially Tinged". CBS News. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
- "Why 'Epic Beard Man' Is The Fastest Growing Public Fight Meme Ever". The Huffington Post. 20 February 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - "'Racially-charged' fight on U.S. bus becomes YouTube hit". Daily Mail. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Associated Press. "Raw Video: Fist Fight Aboard Oakland Bus". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Woodall, Angela (February 19, 2010). "AC Transit bus brawler has video past". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - "Fight on AC Transit bus caught on video". KGO-TV. February 17, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
- Abraham, Zennnie. "City Brights: Zennie Abraham : AC Transit Bus Fight - YouTuber iyannaw08 talks about video". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - "Epic Beard Man Interview". YouTube. February 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)