T Official: Assaults on Operators Not Common

A Green Line T operator was assaulted over the weekend, and while police engage in a search for the suspect, one MBTA official says attacks on public transit operators are rare.

“Assaults on operators are not common, but unfortunately, they do occur from time to time,” MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo wrote in an email to Patch.

Fenway-Kenmore Patch reported Monday a suspect punched a female trolley driver at the Fenway stop Sunday afternoon.  The operator was OK, according to the story.

Pesaturo did not elaborate on measures taken by MBTA to reduce the likelihood of such incidents, but he did write that the MBTA at times looks outside of Boston for answers.

“Such assaults occur at transit systems all over the country, and the MBTA talks about the issue with other major transit systems,” he wrote. 

Pesaturo said the MBTA provides counseling and guidance to employees involved in an attack.