Crime & Safety

Gulfport Police Chief 'Sets the Record Straight,' After School Bus Beating

Should a school bus driver have done more to stop a vicious beating or render aid to the young victim?

A 64-year-old school bus driver watches in horror as three older students deliver a beating to a younger teen. The driver phones 911 and pleads for help NOW!

The vicious crime took place in Gulfport, and now Police Chief Robert Vincent is taking a public scolding of sorts for comments that he made to a reporter after the incident.

"I have been overwhelmed with e-mails and phone calls from those who have been misled to think that I and the Gulfport Police Department have spoken ill of the bus driver," Vincent writes in his blog, "Setting the Record Straight."

CNN reports: "Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent told WFLA that (the driver)  should have stepped in. 'There was clearly an opportunity for him to intervene and or check on the welfare of the children or the child in this case, and he didn't make any effort to do so,' Vincent said."

Vincent offers this explanation for his comments: "Please allow me the opportunity to set the record straight.

"I did a recorded interview with WFLA Tampa reporter, Yolanda Fernandez. I agreed to do the interview because I had received several questions from concerned people who had seen the video footage and wanted to know if we were going to criminally charge the bus driver. Having seen the video myself, I thought this was a reasonable concern and wanted to address it publicly.

"When Ms. Fernandez’s story aired, I considered it an accurate representation of our conversation. I had explained during the interview that we would be referring the matter to the state attorney’s office for evaluation of charges. I said that, while I understood the bus driver’s decision not to get physically involved in the situation, the evidence indicated that he did not take action where it seemed clear that he could have.

"For example, the attack began after the bus was stopped, and the victim was beaten almost continuously for 64 seconds before the driver said something to the assailants. As soon as he did, they discontinued their attack. Imagine if he’d said something sooner.

"When the criminals fled the bus out the emergency exit, the victim lay out of sight underneath the seats. The driver, who had previously acknowledged to dispatch that he thought the boy was going to be killed, remained standing at the front of the bus."

More coverage

"Bus Driver Will Not Be Charged in Fight Between Students"

"Student Robbed, Assaulted on School Bus, Police Say"



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