VANCOUVER -- A video showing an unmasked woman spitting on a fellow bus passenger was posted on TikTok, and transit police say they are now investigating the incident.
In the video, the woman who spat on someone gets shoved down the steps and out the side door of the bus.
Transit police say they only learned of the event after the video began making the rounds on the social media platform TikTok on Thursday morning.
“It’s gone over to our external investigation unit, they are attempting to reach out to the individual who had posted the video in an effort to gather additional information,” said Sgt. Clint Hampton.
But, he said, that could be challenging because TikTok doesn’t offer an easy way for police to direct message users, and the video has since been deleted.
“This makes the investigation difficult, we are working off of a video with very limited information,” Sgt. Hampton said.
“We know when the video was posted but we don’t know when it was taken. Was this taken yesterday or was it taken three months ago?
“We are asking if anybody was a witness to this even or was involved in this event to please contact transit police.”
Right before the woman spits in the man’s face, someone is heard saying the word “disgusting.”
Police aren’t sure if the fact that the woman wasn’t wearing a face mask, which is mandatory on public transit, could be a factor. The man who was spat on shoved the woman toward the bus door, and she was pushed or fell down the stairs and onto the pavement while the bus was at a stop at Nanaimo and Hastings streets.
“If there is somebody on transit who is not wearing a mask, we encourage people to socially distance themselves from that person,” said Hampton. “We don’t want people trying to police the mandatory mask policy and putting themselves at risk.”
If the woman who spat on the man is identified, she could be charged with assault.
“It’s disgusting,” Sgt. Hampton said. “No other way to put it, for people to be spat on is disgusting for people.”
