Blind Senior Dragged Off Bus by Police: Lost Her Pass, Witnesses Say

An 88-year-old visually impaired woman, Jess Mill, recounts being forcibly removed from a bus by police officers. This incident occurred after the bus driver, who had grown impatient as she fumbled for her bus pass, called the authorities. The ordeal left Jess deeply upset and with a significant leg bruise.

According to Jess, the conflict began when she had trouble locating her concession card, which allows her free travel. The driver of the Lothian Buses then requested her to vacate the bus.

Earlier that day, Jess had attended an event at the Leith Dockers Club and was merely trying to return home. Feeling chilled from the wait at the bus stop, she even showed a letter confirming her registration as a blind person to the driver.

However, the driver insisted on seeing the pass and refused to accept any alternative, even after Jess emptied her handbag in an attempt to find it. Subsequently, the driver claimed the pass was not valid and demanded she leave the bus.

When Jess refused to disembark, the driver pulled over and called the police. The responding officers physically removed her from the bus. Now, Jess from Leith, Edinburgh, is calling for an apology for the treatment she received.

She expressed disbelief and frustration over the incident, questioning the justification behind the bus driver’s and police’s actions. “It’s hard to believe what we’re coming to when a bus driver won’t take an old blind woman the two stops to her home, whether I had my pass with me or not,” Jess stated.

She further criticized the police’s approach, describing it as overly aggressive and unnecessary. “But it’s even harder to make sense of how those police officers treated me. Is that really what we’re paying the police service to do, to bully and ­intimidate old, vulnerable people?” she added.

Jess recounted that one of the officers threatened to remove her if she did not get off voluntarily. Despite her initial disbelief, the situation escalated when the officer began to physically pull her off the bus.

“I must have blacked out for a few seconds because I can’t actually recall the moment I went from the bus to the pavement, but when I came to, my legs were sore and my glasses were all scratched. I was baffled and crying and I still feel very vulnerable because of this,” Jess explained.

She also pointed out the unnecessary delay caused to other passengers, who had to wait for another bus because the driver refused to transport her. Jess contrasted this negative experience with the compassion shown by other drivers, particularly highlighting a female driver who regularly assists her after Mass.

Responding to the incident, a spokesperson for Lothian Buses confirmed their cooperation with the police investigation but declined to comment on their policy regarding vulnerable passengers.

Meanwhile, a Police Scotland spokesperson acknowledged the incident, which occurred on January 31, stating that officers attended and removed a woman from the bus without further involvement as there were no reports of injury.