Bus driver found guilty of assault after choking passenger

BEND, Ore. (AP) — A fired bus driver in Oregon accused of choking a Black passenger to unconsciousness because the man was not wearing shoes has been found guilty of strangulation and assault.

A Deschutes County jury on Wednesday found Michael Brinster guilty of choking and assaulting Dorian Allstot and not guilty of menacing, The Bulletin reported.

The six-person jury returned the verdict after about four hours of deliberation over the 2020 incident that was caught by bus surveillance footage, according to Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel.

Brinster, who is white, contended he was defending himself against Allstot, who is Black.

The jury decided Brinster was not justified in the level of force he used against Allstot.

Hummel said Allstot repeatedly said throughout the case that he did not trust that he would see justice. He noted that he didn’t trust the police, who arrested him outside the bus for spitting on and threatening Brinster, and didn’t trust the all-white jury.

On Aug. 20, 2020, Allstot boarded the Cascades East Transit bus in Bend. Brinster, who was driving, asked Allstot to get off because he was not wearing shoes. Brinster claimed this was a violation of bus rules although the council that oversees the transit operation has said the rule did not exist.

Allstot got off the bus, and Brinster drove away. When he returned to the station, Allstot tried to get back on the bus, this time wearing socks. Brinster stopped him, and an argument ensued.

Brinster claimed Allstot reached for his sheathed knife, although he was not charged with a weapons offense. Brinster responded by grabbing Allstot, slamming him against a window and taking him off the bus in a chokehold. Allstot briefly lost consciousness, prosecutors said.

Allstot was charged with suspicion of spitting on and threatening Brinster, but those charges were dismissed.

Brinster was fired after the incident. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18.