‘In this case, the witnesses were Calgarians of all ages accessing transit to go to school or work and may now not feel safe in their own community,’ said Const. Matt Messenger with the Calgary Police Service’s hate crime team
A Calgary man is being charged with hate-motivated offences after shouting racist and degrading comments on a city bus last month.
Police say a bus was driving in the 3000 block of 31 Street N.W. on May 23 when a man walked in front of the vehicle, causing the bus to stop suddenly. The man got on the bus, took a seat behind the driver and began to shout racist epithets at another person on the bus.
“A passenger on the bus then asked the man to stop, which led to the man turning his attention to the other passengers on the bus,” said Calgary police in a news release. “He continued to shout racist and derogatory insults to the victim and other passengers on board for more than 10 minutes before departing the bus at a later stop.”
Security camera footage, alongside witness statements and cellphone video, helped investigators identify a suspect and lay charges.
Darren Andrew Hobbs, 62, has been charged with one count of criminal harassment and one count of causing a disturbance, both of which have been determined to be hate-motivated.
Hobbs is expected to appear in court on Aug. 7.
Hate motivation is considered an aggravating factor when judges consider the proper sentence for someone convicted of a crime. Police say the designation means the offender was motivated by “bias, prejudice or hate” based on the victim’s personal characteristics.