Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

YouTube ‘Uppercut’Mary Shaffer

Timeline• October 11: Video First posted on YouTube

• First media calls that evening, talked with CEO

• Viewed video, operator was suspended• October 12: My busiest day at RTA.• September 18: Actual incident date

• Police report, 8 pages, witness statements• Never any mention of a punch by anyone

Posting of videos• Six videos, the first is the closest, second

farther back (both added websites)• Operator Artis Hughes vs. customer

Shi’dea Lane (see video one and two)• Created transcript of incident from the

first video, in case of arbitration and lawsuits

• Still see this video daily in Cleveland, hearing about the ‘infamous uppercut’

Public/Media ResponsesHow we heard from people• emails, phone calls, FB posts and

tweets• What were they angry about?• What did they do about it?

Media RelationsWhat we did• Crafted a message: media statement,

phone operators, facebook, twitter, emails, general calls; kept track of comments/calls

• Created a media/public information request spreadsheet

• Pulled operator Artis Hughes file and info• Shared the redacted police report quickly

FB Page ‘Uppercut OG support’

FB ‘Shi’Dea Lane’ page

FB and Twitter Comments• Drivers should be armed with tasers!!!! She got

what she deserved...old school • Something needs to be done about this level of

disrespect shown by passengers. Everybody should be held to a high standard, customers included.

• She started it and he finished it! Bout time someone shut these nasty little mouths up. She should be banned from RTA

More comments• I hope he presses charges for her hurting

his hand. she totally got what she deserved. Act like a man, get knocked out like a man.

• I will never agree that any man should hit a woman

• You can ride the bus out of the hood, but you can't ride the hood out of the bus.

Follow Up News Reports• Continuously using the same video • Searching: “Are operators safe on RTA? Is

RTA doing enough to protect them? Is this common on RTA? What laws protect drivers/customers”

• Fox 8 found a new ‘Shi’dea Lane’, who had retained a lawyer (see this video)

• Customers continue to ask why Hughes would be fired (via email/phone/sm)

Aftermath• Hughes fired on November 6; silence• Political events

• City of Cleveland proposed stricter penalties for unruly customers

• State lawmakers proposals• More uniformed and undercover

officers riding the system daily

Aftermath (cont)• Legal changes – union vs. mgmt

handling drivers for court• Discussions about safety, balancing

safety messages for all• Lane and Hughes: Days in Court in

March• No lawsuit against RTA at this time

Focus on Security• Safety & Security Committee - Board

Committee; Labor/Mgmt Comittee• Testing two enclosure used elsewhere

• Asking for operator feedback• Positive/negative

• Feb 19 RTA Board approved $2.5 million in camera systems (upgrades and new cameras and recording devices)

Questions/Comments

Thank you!Mary Shaffer216.566.5211

Mshaffer@gcrta.org