A man is facing charges of assault and mischief after an incident on a B.C. Ferries vessel in which an employee was bitten by a passenger.
The incident began shortly after the 7 a.m. sailing for Swartz Bay left Tsawwassen on Saturday, as a deckhand walked around the vehicle deck reminding passengers that they are required by Transport Canada regulations to leave their vehicles during the sailing, said Eric McNeeley, provincial president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union.
A passenger accosted the deckhand and began punching him “for no apparent reason,” McNeeley said.
Another crew member, a second officer, arrived to speak with the passenger, who appeared to calm down, before running across the car deck, up to the passenger deck and through the cafeteria, he said. The man leapt over the food serving counter into the staff area, he said.
The second officer caught up to the man from the car deck and when he approached, the man started kicking him, McNeeley said.
When the second officer reached down to grab the man’s boot, the man spun around and bit him on the arm, breaking the skin, he said.
Several crew members and an off-duty police officer subdued the passenger, who was held in a room during the rest of the voyage, he said.
“It was unclear why it went so violent so quickly,” McNeeley said.
Sidney-North Saanich RCMP received a call around 7:30 a.m. Saturday reporting that a male passenger on a sailing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay was “sprinting around the vehicle deck, assaulting staff,” said Const. Benje Bartley, media relations officer for the detachment.
Officers boarded the ferry in Swartz Bay and took the man into custody without a struggle, he said.
He was taken to the Sidney-North Saanich RCMP detachment, where he was released on conditions and with a first court appearance scheduled for Sept. 22.
The man faces two counts of assault and one count of mischief, Bartley said.
Officers took the second officer to hospital to have his injuries checked out, McNeeley said. He has returned to work after a couple of days off, while the deckhand who was punched multiple times continued to work Saturday, he said.
Violence against B.C. Ferries staff appears to be on the rise, McNeeley said.
“Coming out of COVID, members are reporting more negative interactions, and it seems like people’s patience is lower and that there’s more mental health and more substance use and abuse issues,” he said.
B.C. Ferries said it is “deeply concerned” about the incident.
“We are taking this incident seriously and continue to reinforce our zero-tolerance policy for violence and abuse,” spokesperson Sonia Lowe said in an email.
The company is supporting affected crew members and plans to conduct an internal review to assess the incident and identify if any additional measures are needed to ensure crew safety, she said.
