‘Threw me under the bus:’ Man says MARTA wrongfully terminated him after passenger assaulted him

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A former MARTA bus driver said he was fired for being assaulted by a passenger, he told Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln.

Now, he’s fighting to clear his name and get back pay from the organization after he said he was wrongfully terminated.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Felony charges were brought against this driver and the charges were eventually dropped after the district attorney’s office said Labarron Morgan acted in self-defense.

Morgan is now considering taking legal action against MARTA for his termination.

He said he worked during the pandemic and being a MARTA bus driver was a job he took with pride.

“I like driving,” he told Channel 2. However, his career came to an end in March last year after this incident with an unruly passenger resulted in MARTA firing him.

“I’m telling you bro, I’m going to shoot you bro, swear to God,” the passenger told Morgan.

“They threw me under the bus,” Morgan said, referring to MARTA.

TRENDING STORIES:

• 28-year-old Georgia woman paralyzed after visit to chiropractor, family says
• Former Georgia school employee arrested after teen girl finds GoPro camera outside bedroom window
• ‘She fought with everything she got’: Family, school mourn the loss of Ga. softball coach

Morgan says that while he was dropping passengers off near Jonesboro Road and Forrest Parkway in Clayton County, this passenger onboard wouldn’t stop shouting profanities while listening to music.

“It progressively got louder and louder,” Morgan said.

He said he tried alerting the man, but when the man didn’t stop, Morgan told him he needed to get off the bus.

The passenger walked to the front of the bus and refused to leave. Morgan said he called 911.

He admits to pushing the partition that was dividing them, only after he said the passenger pushed it toward him first.

“I’m going to shoot you bro,” the passenger told Morgan. The passenger eventually exited the bus.

MARTA told Channel 2 that it presented the case to Clayton County, where a felony aggravated assault charge was later filed against Morgan. He turned himself in and spent three days in jail until he could bond out.

“I don’t want to be in a position where I have to defend myself,” he said.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Morgan says his actions happened during a period where MARTA drivers said that stress was high while transporting passengers during the pandemic.

“I’ve had several co-workers at the time who’ve had run-ins with passengers and they’ve had fights with passengers,” Morgan said.

But now, he wants to clear his name after the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office corroborated his story.

“They didn’t pay me my hazardous pay,” Morgan said.

The Clayton County District’s Attorney Office dropped that assault charge this year. In a document, the state said that after reviewing this video, it found that the alleged victim was the instigator and Morgan acted in self-defense.

Channel 2 reached out to MARTA. In this statement, it said that passenger safety is number one and that after reviewing the video, it decided to terminate Morgan.

MARTA also said that drivers are trained on how to properly respond to personal threats, but Morgan maintains he was treated unfairly.

“I feel like I was definitely wrongfully terminated,” he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Contractors on high alert after being robbed multiple times in metro Atlanta Tree removal crews say they are increasingly being targeted by armed robbers. The thieves storm worksites to steal expensive chainsaws and other tools.

©2022 Cox Media Group