Woman arrested for attempting to stab bus driver: Winnipeg police

Officers with the Winnipeg Police Service arrested a 41-year-old woman after she allegedly attempted to stab a bus driver over the weekend.

The incident took place at around 7 p.m. Sunday on a transit bus in the area of Portage Avenue and Camden Street,

According to police, a woman got on an eastbound Portage bus and began to cause a disturbance. Officers said the bus driver stopped the bus and asked the woman to get off, but the suspect took out a knife and tried to stab the driver around the protective plastic barrier,

The bus driver told all the passengers to get off the bus, and he jumped through the driver’s side window. The suspect ran away.

Police officers found the woman, who was in possession of the weapon, at Portage Avenue and Camden Street. Police used a Taser and took her into custody.

Officers said they discovered the woman was also in possession of an additional knife.

Destiny Dawn Harry has been charged with assault with a weapon, failure to comply with a release order, and two counts of possession of a weapon. None of the charges have been proven in court.

Harry remains in custody.

TRANSIT UNION CALLING FOR SHIELD EXTENSION

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, which represents city bus drivers, is calling for an extension of the operator shield around drivers, which were first installed in 2019

“The current design of operator shields puts Transit workers, passengers inside the bus, and members of the surrounding public at risk. A bus is a large vehicle capable of doing immense harm in the wrong hands,” the ATU said in a statement.

The union said an extension would make it difficult for someone to reach into the driver’s compartment and would allow drivers to have more time to alter the control centre if a disturbance happens.