Editorial: Driver Hardly a Hero

A poll on the opposite side of this page shows near-unanimous sentiment that Bus Operator Howard McLean, who was suspended after physically throwing a teenager from his bus, should escape with a suspension rather than the firing that New York City Transit is considered likely to impose.

In two letters published in the Daily News last week, another veteran driver contended Mr. McLean “should be lauded for putting that punk in his place,” and a retired MTA manager who used to conduct disciplinary hearings said that if he’d been subjected to the verbal abuse the teen dished out after Mr. McLean refused to allow him to ride for free, “I would have thrown the kid off the bus and he would still be limping.”