NAACP calls for RTA driver to be fired over racial statements


CONTINUING COVERAGE

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has concluded its investigation into the reported attack on a Dayton bus driver and found that there is no reason to believe the incident is a hate crime.

The federal agency’s statement Friday follows a Dayton Police investigation released Wednesday that found Dayton Regional Transportation Authorty bus driver Rickey Wagoner’s story is not credible.

“We don’t believe a hate crime is involved here,” Todd Lindgren, spokesman for the FBI in Cincinnati said. “That’s really it.”

Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said during a press conference that key elements of Wagoner’s story could not have happened as described.

In the Feb. 24 incident, Wagoner, who is white, told police he was shot and stabbed in the 1900 block of Lakeview Avenue by three black teenage men while standing outside of his electric-powered trolley bus investigating why it lost power.

Meanwhile, Derrick Lee Foward, President of the Dayton Unit of the NAACP, said on his Facebook page that he is “outraged” by the incident.

“The Dayton Unit NAACP commends the Dayton Police Department on a thorough and complete investigation in the alleged shooting and stabbing of a RTA bus driver by the black teenagers. We are urging the RTA to immediately terminate the employment of Rickey Wagoner and for the Dayton Police Department and FBI to prosecute Mr. Wagoner to the fullest extent of the law.”

Dayton City Prosecutor Stephanie Cook has declined to comment on why the investigation did not result in charges against Wagoner. The city’s Law Department spent a month reviewing the police investigation.

RTA has accused Wagoner, who has been described as a good employee prior to the incident, of violations of its Employee Standards of Performance and is proceeding with disciplinary procedures. A hearing has not been scheduled, said RTA Executive Director Mark Donaghy. RTA is awaiting a response from Wagoner’s Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1385 representative on a date.

Wagoner remains on paid administrative leave and has not responded to requests for comment.

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