On Thursday, Aug. 20, a bus driver in Bend put a Black passenger in a chokehold until he lost consciousness. The cause? Because the passenger was not wearing shoes.
Twenty-five-year-old Bend resident Dorian Zane Allstot had gotten kicked off the bus at Hawthorne Station once before because he had no shoes. He came back a second time wearing socks.
The Source obtained two CET videos from Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel that document the incident. These are posted at the end of this article.
The bus driver, Michael Lee Brinster, 44, is employed by Para-Transit Services as an operator of Cascades East Transit buses. He told Allstot to get off the bus because shoes are required to ride on the bus. But according to the policies of CET, shoes are not required. After Allstot boarded the CET bus for the second time without shoes, Brinster began yelling at him and physically confronted Allstot at his bus seat.
Allstot refused to leave and began calmly mocking Brinster by asking Brinster to give Allstot his own shoes and saying, “I thought I was wearing shoes, that’s so weird.” At the same time Brinster repeated, “Get the f—- off my bus,” at least 20 times.
Then Brinster grabbed Allstot and slammed him against the window of the bus and accused him of pulling out a knife. While Allstot was wearing a knife on his belt, he said he did not touch it or pull it out.
Then Brinster put Allstot in a chokehold and dragged him off the bus and threw him to the ground, where Allstot lost consciousness.
After Allstot woke up, he came back to the bus door and began mocking Brinster and spat in his face, while attempting to provoke him into a duel on the sidewalk in front of the bus.
At the same time, Brinster called 911 and told the operator that Allstot was brandishing a knife and was going to pull it on him. Allstot admitted that he did threaten Brinster with his knife during this part of the altercation, though the video footage shows Allstot instead smoking a cigarette and laughing at Brinster.
Police soon arrived on the scene at Hawthorne Station and arrested Allstot for unlawful use of a weapon, menacing and harassment and took him to Deschutes County Adult Jail, where he spent the night. Police officers said that Allstot may have been drinking, according to District Attorney Hummel.
Brinster was not arrested.
The next morning, Hummel reviewed arrests in the county from the night before, and decided not to file charges against Allstot and ordered him released from jail until he could complete a further investigation.
After reviewing the video footage from CET, Hummel charged Brinster with Assault in the Fourth Degree and Strangulation. He charged Allstot with Harassment for spitting on Brinster, and Menacing for the knife incident after he was removed from the bus.
“The actions of this bus driver were shocking and criminal,” Hummel said in a statement. “He approached a passenger in an aggressive, disrespectful and violent manner: all because the passenger was wearing socks but no shoes.
“The fact this happened on a transit bus that regularly serves many of our most vulnerable residents is disheartening,” Hummel said.
“The bus driver committed a violent assault against the passenger, but I will not tolerate vigilante justice in Deschutes County,” he said. “I understand the passenger’s anger at the bus driver, but this justified anger is not a legal excuse for later inviting the driver to fight, pulling out a knife, and spitting on him. If you commit serious crimes in this community, I’ll charge you, regardless of whether you’re a white bus driver or a black bus passenger who is houseless.”
Brinster had three felony convictions on his record: criminal mistreatment in the first degree, identity theft and theft in the first degree, according to Hummel. Allstot had one prior shoplifting conviction for stealing an $8 bag of kitty litter, Hummel said.
During a press conference this afternoon, Hummel was asked by a reporter if he thought that race was involved in this case.
“I don’t know what is in the bus driver’s heart and mind,” Hummel said. “He never expressed animus towards Mr. Allstot because of his race. It does seem like there was a disregard… or maybe he treated him less than he would have treated me perhaps, a man in my suit who maybe didn’t have my shoes because I came from the gym and left them in my locker. Perhaps there would have been a different reaction.”
The Source could not reach Allstot for comment, though he said this on his public Facebook page regarding the incident:
“Yeah, bus driver lied out his ass to the cops about me trying to stab him with a knife I never pulled,” Allstot wrote on Aug. 22. “And the cops weren’t interested in watching the actual f——— bus footage whatsoever, so instead decided to make it easy and just slap me with some felonies.”
The Bend Police Department originally charged Allstot with Aggravated Harassment (Class C felony), Unlawful Use and Carry of a Weapon (Class C felony with a potential sentence of up to 5 years in prison and fines reaching $125,000) and Menacing (Class A misdemeanor).
WATCH NOW: Part One of Cascades East Transit Assault
WATCH NOW: Part Two of Cascades East Transit Assault
Update: This article was updated on Sept. 3, 2020 to reflect the conviction records for both Allstot and Brinster.
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 2, 2020.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
This is a very interesting story and here’s why –
First, the Bulletin’s story published yesterday gives a very detailed account of the criminal histories of both suspects. Well worth reading.
https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/be…
Also, the “Peacekeepers” have thrown their hat into this ring, as well.
“The protest group Central Oregon Peacekeepers last week on Facebook called for the suspension of the officers who responded and arrested Allstot but not Brinster. Luke Richter, president and founder of the group, wants Hummel to investigate the Bend Police officers involved.
“Yes we definitely want an investigation into the officers and potentially even Bend Police night shift as this is where we are seeing most problems arise,” he said.”
And from Mr. Allstot’s FB page –
“Central Oregon Peacekeepers
2d ·
“Our readers will recall that last week we called for the suspension and investigation of Bend Police Officer Leah Boileau. Officer Boileau has demonstrated a pattern of what appears to be racial bias in who she arrests, and in how she charges different suspects.
Last Thursday, a young Black man and Bend citizen was attacked by a bus driver. Not only did Officer Boileau not arrest his attacker…she arrested the victim and charged him with a felony.
The Peacekeepers have just been given information that officer Boileau is now targeting that young man (who was released from the Deschutes County Jail with no charges, and to the best of our knowledge is currently not under investigation for any crime.)”
As per “Peacekeeper policy” there is no fact checking, no sourcing by name, just inflammatory allegations for which they cannot be held accountable for.
That said –
Did the loquacious Mr. Hummel consider this incident as falling under the legal definition in Oregon of “mutual combat”? Bearing in mind Oregon law does not actually support such a negation of charging.
“There is no mutual combat defense in the statute in this state,” says Steven Sherlag, a criminal defense lawyer in Portland. “Sometimes it can be confusing as to who was the first aggressor and it can be confusing as to whether someone used too much force to defend themselves.”
And is DA Hummel fully up to speed on current Oregon law regarding carry, possession, and potential criminal charging with respect to knives?
https://www.akti.org/state-knife-laws/oreg…
And given the uptick in public transit employees such as drivers being exposed to potentially infection by being spat on (i.e. Corona 19 virus), did Hummel take this into account other than just watching the videos?
“In the past 18 months, TriMet bus drivers have been on the receiving end of some brutal attacks, including three stabbings and a vicious beating at a North Portland stop last fall.”
https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2014/….
Were / are the police reports available and if so why were they not provided by DA Hummel along with the videos?
What are the criminal histories for both suspects charged?
Does the transit company have a “must wear mask” policy in conjunction with the GOV’s guidelines when using the bus service? If so, were either or both of the suspects following this policy?
Why are two well respected female police officers from BPD being singled out by Luke Richter, who on the Peacekeeper FB cyber vigilante page, has labeled both as “racists”? Or is anyone and everyone in Mr. Richter’s world a “racist” if they don’t meet his personal standards?
Why hasn’t the Central Oregon Black Leaders Assembly weighed in on this yet? Or have they even been asked by the Media? It would seem there are other organizations directly concerned and involved in race issues other than the COPK whose opinions would provide journalistic balance?
Finally, also from Mr. Allstot’s FB page regarding this incident to include Mr. Allstot’s reported intoxication during the incident –
Morgan Sitzman “That is so crazy! Im glad youre okay! **** the Bend PD”
Dorian Allstot
July 21 ·
“I only want to abolish the goverment so that I can never again be told “it’s too late to buy alcohol”
Well, there you go, I guess.
Charlie’s long-winded email ignores a critical point. None of this would have happened if the bus driver had not demanded that the passenger wear shoes. There is no CET rule that passengers must wear shoes. The passenger was not breaking any rules and did not deserve to be verbally and physically assaulted by the driver.
This is a perfect example of not proper training to stay calm, knowing the rules and powers you actually have in your position of work and where in this case, the bus driver feels the need or entitlement to overstep his actual authority or power (he stated a rule that wasn’t an actual rule). It appears the passenger was under the influence as well, so that makes for a difficult situation. Just watching the videos and exchange, you can see both men have control issues and are not at their best mentally. And this is also an example of what is getting police officers in so much heat these days. They are over stepping their power using excessive force, not being consistent in how they treat others (racial bias etc.), at times having bad attitudes because they feel they can and overstepping their actual power and taking things into their own hands because they are wearing a badge. It’s a tremendous amount of power you give someone when they wear a badge or hold a high position and I do think we need to do more psychological profiling when hiring people obtaining jobs where they are given positions of power. I would imagine if you were to take profiles of police officers who overstep their power or anyone for that matter that has a high power position (i.e. president of US) you would see they have power/control issues and many are narcissistic and are not fit to manage people or wear a badge, hold a gavel or sit in the Oval Office. We need proper screening tools and training tools using methods such as restorative justice methods or non-violent communication training if you are wanting to have a position of power such as president, judge, police officer and yes even bus drivers where you are holding space for other people. We need stable, logical and mentally sound people working in our communities and nations.
How about we lock up both idiots (same cell) in the county jail for a few days. How drunk and stupid are you if you even try to board the bus with no shoes and a knife on your hip? There may be be no rules about shoe requirements but does there need to be? The driver should have been smart enough to just call the supervisor or the cops on what was most likely an unruly rider.
AS FOR OUR DA, do we really need a press conference every time he sees some sort of injustice. Please Big John, quit now while quitting is good. Start your gubernatorial campaign today.
Hey, Mickey –
“None of this would have happened…”
First, when I comment I lean toward educating. If you want quick and cute quips then remain on Facebook. Fact is – there’s so much more to this than a quick “the other Media already has a story out on this” article, which this one is.
That said –
CET does mandate the wearing of face masks if you are using their transit services and Mr. Allstot was clearly wearing a mask…which the bus driver was not. Meaning he was violating his own employer’s safety/health rules to begin with.
Health, Safety & Operations Updates
Service Alerts and Public Health Information
“CET continues to wipe down high touch surfaces on buses and at facilities every four hours, require riders to wear face coverings such as scarves, bandanas or masks, and enforce social distancing per OHA guidelines.”
And who is the fellow in the green shirt who gets involved?
The driver’s behavior was wholly unacceptable regardless. And he is charged as is appropriate. Of course he “calmed down” after Bend PD arrived – and of course it would not be later until the company’s video would be made available to the police. Contrary to public opinion, in most cases, the police have to get a warrant to view or seize video or audio evidence.
The Bulletin story offers the driver has multiple felony arrests however there was no listing of what these were for, and if he was convicted. At the same time…23 felony arrests? How did he get a job driving a CET bus with that kind of criminal history, if accurate?
Those are good questions for the Bend City Council given the $1MIL funding continuance they are currently considering for CET.
Hope this wasn’t “too long” for your attention span boundries.
Hmmm. Must have struck a nerve with CharlieMike. Oh well. I don’t do facebook and, no, your post wasn’t too long for me. Just largely irrelevant. Again, I say, none of this would have happened if the bus driver had left the passenger alone. I don’t get why that point upsets you so.
Force is seldom the best solution. As a people, Americans, police and others in authority, need to rethink how we obtain cooperation with less force.
Flip-flops. For one dollar, this problem could have been avoided. A bus driver was determined to force a neighbor to comply with the bus driver’s interpretation of his employer’s rules; when a pair of flip-flops from the nearby market would have solved the problem.
We must stop thinking force is the only solution.
Once again a white male using his privilege to oppress others. Shocking.
If white men would stop abusing their skin and penis based privilege, we would all be a lot safer.
Is that prick still driving a bus? I want to get on it without shoes. Then let the fun start.
Charliemike are you mentally challenged or just a racist in denial? Mutual combat? Bend is the new Nazi Orange County. Ever wonder why Orange County is the location in American History X? Because it’s rife with homogenized middle class racism. This bus driver is a complete idiot & a bully. Even more disturbing was his YouTube mma skills. Holding the choke way longer than needed was dangerous & showed that had anyone with an once of skill & drive to fight back would of really hurt his fat ass. Fuck I can’t stand Bend. And if you think I’m some high & mighty guy riding the current wave of social justice….wrong. My name is Elijah Mack. I’m 50yrs old & as “white” as one can be. And please check my IG @quantumstoic to see a real mutual combat fight. In fact I could of pressed charges but the beating I handed the man was enough & the cops agreed. He started the fight & I obliged him. That is mutual combat. And the guy who started the fight was black, but neither he nor I were motivated by race. He was looking for a fight and it was clear he didn’t care about what my race was, he just didn’t like it that I wasn’t gonna back down. And I couldn’t care less about his race, I just don’t like bullies. This bus driver is lucky he didn’t get his teeth knocked out. Fucking Bend! So glad the DA charged that fat bastard.
Hummel and his filthy team are also doing something real discussing to me over the local homeless that sit on the corner and I was sitting on over 1,500 hours of community service I’d already given your community. neuromuscular therapygoodbye and now I’ve been waiting in the dark because of homeless strippers and John Hummels affixiation with one who had mission trips in her history to Africa. A homeless stripper. John is clearly got more biased screws than any member in our nation who took an Oath into office.
Cascades East Transit routinely insults and harasses their passengers, particularly if they are homeless or appear to be homeless. They once wouldn’t let me on “their” bus because I had a broken arm. They and their drivers are a disgrace to our community and should be replaced ASAP. It is a shame the county will not appropriate enough money for us to have a decent public bus system.