If you'll rob a woman while she has a seizure on a train, what won't you do?

Law enforcement officials are trying to track down three young men they believe are responsible for robbing a 25-year-old woman who had a seizure on a Hiawatha Line train the day after Christmas.

SEE ALSO: Does classical music at transit stations really help deter crime?

The seizing woman ended up on the floor of the train as it pulled into the Lake Street station. In the confusion, the suspects made off with her cell phone and bag.

More »

Who needs Metro Transit police when you have Shawn Daivari?

Metro Transit has released surveillance footage of former WWE wrestler Shawn Daivari choking out a belligerent passenger during a southbound trip on the Hiawatha Line a few weeks back.

SEE ALSO:
-- Shawn Daivari, former WWE star, chokes out belligerent racist on Hiawatha Line
-- Metro Transit responds to security concerns following Shawn Daivari incident

Though the footage doesn't have sound, it appears to show that the incident unfolded just as we've previously reported. An unruly passenger gives a bicyclist a hard time when he boards the train, then appears to turn his ire to another off-camera rider. As the man prepares to initiate a physical altercation with the off-camera rider, Daivari springs out of his seat, takes his jacket off, and chokes the troublemaker out.

More »

Daivari's Hiawatha Line smackdown isn't reflective of security problems on Metro Transit trains, a spokesman said.

A couple weeks ago, former WWE star Shawn Daivari choked out a belligerent passenger while riding on the Hiawatha Line to the airport.

SEE ALSO:
-- Shawn Daivari, former WWE star, chokes out belligerent racist on Hiawatha Line

Daivari said numerous people on the train hit the train's emergency help button when the disturbance began, but at the next stop, "nobody got on the train, so we knew there were no cops waiting to get on and help."

That characterization of the incident raised concerns about security on Hiawatha Line trains, but in an interview with City Pages, Metro Transit's PR manager, John Siqveland, gave a slightly different account of the incident and said officials handled the on-train smackdown the best they could.


More »

Tim Dortch allegedly murdered a 25-year-old man following an on-bus argument.

SEE ALSO: Route 16 bus altercation leads to homicide near Capitol

St. Paul police say that yesterday's fatal stabbing near the Capitol was the culmination of a dispute that began when two route 16 bus riders bumped into each other on the bus.

Police say that Tim Dortch, 38, and Desmond Harper, 25, bumped into each other, sparking an on-bus argument. Things didn't get violent until they got off the bus, when Dortch allegedly stabbed Harper to death near where they exited at Rice Street and Aurora Avenue. Harper's body was found on the steps of the Berean Church shortly after 1 a.m.

More »

An early-morning 16-bus argument had a deadly conclusion.

A man was found dead this morning near the intersection of Rice Street and University Avenue in St. Paul following an altercation that began on a Metro Transit route 16 bus.

Witnesses say a "group" of men were fighting on the bus, but weren't kicked off. They exited at Rice Street and Aurora Avenue. Police were called to the intersection around 1 this morning on a report of two people fighting. They found an unresponsive adult male and two other people at the scene. The unresponsive male, whose name hasn't yet been released, was found on the steps of the Berean Church and later pronounced dead.

No arrest have been made, and police are questioning the two people found alive at the scene.

More »

This is the familiar scene as you try not to get groped and/or grope other passengers.

​There's no better way to travel than the metro bus. Everyone's jammed in next to each other, with some preppy architecture student's sketch bag poking the ribs of a lawyer who is shouting into his cellphone -- and the ear of a bearded man who is, at that very moment, urinating.

Those kinds of experiences are what keep Twin Cities residents piling on the bus again and again. Apparently, we can't get enough of the bus these days.

The Metropolitan Council announced this morning that it's registered more than 60 million bus transfers and card-swipes this year, an increase of more than 2 million rides from the same time last year. By year's end, the Met Council says we might reach the 80 million mark.

This kind of public transit surge could really lead to an increased sense of community and civic engagement, if any of us ever decided to take out our iPod earbuds and/or make eye contact.

More »