B6 Bus Driver Arrested For Choking Youth During Argument Over Dog

An MTA bus driver tried to choke a passenger who brought a small dog on a B6 bus Wednesday morning, according to the NYPD.

The 19-year-old victim got on the bus on Bay Parkway and Bath Avenue at 11:12am carrying the Yorkie in his bag, and had already swiped his MetroCard when the driver, 49-year-old Toussaint Cummings, objected to the pet, cops said. During a verbal dispute Cummings allegedly put his hands around the victim’s neck until other passengers intervened and the youth fled to the back of the bus. The driver then shut the bus doors and refused to let anyone out until police were called.

The victim eventually escaped through the back door, police said.

NYPD officers arrested Cummings, charging him with criminal obstruction of breathing and unlawful imprisonment.

Cummings, who has been working for the MTA since 1999, has been removed from service pending the outcome of an investigation, said a spokesperson for the MTA.

Aside from guide dogs, which are always allowed on MTA buses, pets can be carried in a closed carrier, according to the MTA’s rules of conduct.