Man charged after allegedly threatening baby on Vancouver bus

Jun 21 2017, 5:51 am

A man is in custody after allegedly threatening a woman, a baby, and other passengers on a bus in downtown Vancouver recently.

On Tuesday, Transit Police said that on May 31, at approximately 5:15 pm, the woman boarded a bus at Davie Street and Bute Street, along with her 16-month-old child in a stroller.

Several minutes later a man boarded the bus at Davie Street and Thurlow Street and stood beside the stroller.

“He began focussing on the baby, leaning over it and allegedly pushing repeatedly on the release button of the harness,” said Transit Police in a release.

“When the mother asked him to stop, he allegedly became verbally abusive, yelling and swearing at her.”

When another passenger intervened and tried to get the man to stop, the man reportedly challenged the Good Samaritan to a fight, threatening to break his nose.

The mother then tried to get off the bus with her baby at the next stop, but was reportedly blocked from doing so by the man.

At that point, police said, “several passengers grabbed the suspect and held him back until he broke free and left the bus at Granville Street and Davie Street.”

As the man remained outside the bus yelling, the mother was told to stay on the bus until he had left. She was eventually able to get off the bus safely.

The bus operator called for assistance and an investigation was launched by Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

A suspect was subsequently identified and arrested June 9, 2017 at Main Street and Hastings Street in Vancouver.

Now, 56-year-old Arthur Emile Cherpak, of no fixed address, has been charged with two counts of Uttering Threats, Assault and Criminal Harassment.

He has been remanded in custody and appeared in court on Tuesday in Vancouver Provincial Court.

Officials said Cherpak is well-known to police.

Eric ZimmerEric Zimmer

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