Hamilton police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after seeing a video of a Hamilton man hurling transphobic and racist slurs at passengers on an HSR bus. Police issued a press release Tuesday about the three-minute video after CBC Hamilton asked the police service about it a day earlier. It also said the incident was reported through the agency’s online reporting tool by a third party in another province. The video, posted online Monday, appears to have been filmed from inside an HSR bus as it approached the Lawrence Road entrance of Gage Park. The person who recorded the video appears to be a 42-year-old Hamilton man named Chris. He regularly streams live on YouTube and other social media platforms. His channel has many videos showing him getting into heated confrontations with other people in the city. The transphobic rant that has gone viral is just a snippet of a live stream that aired on Monday, which has since been deleted. “This stuff breaks my heart,” Jyssika Russell, a member of the LGBTQ community in Hamilton, said on Twitter after the video was briefly shared online on Tuesday. Russell works with the Enchanté Network, a network of 2SLGBTQI+ organizations in Canada, and told CBC Hamilton that the network “is acutely aware of the rising tide of hate in Canada, and Hamilton has unfortunately been a harbinger that elected officials at all levels must follow and responsive,” he said. “Thriving, funded and supported 2SLGBTQI+ communities and organizations are our best answer to homophobic and transphobic hate.” CBC Hamilton has seen the video but is not publishing it to protect the others in the video – who have not been identified and do not appear to have consented to the recording – from further harm.
Streamer insults and threatens riders
In the video, Chris sits on an HSR bus headed to Gage Park’s Festival of Friends. He had also live streamed the festival in the last few days. “I don’t know what that stupid, weird, transformer-looking thing is laughing at,” Chris says, pointing to a passenger sitting in front of him. “Does anyone love you?” replies the rider, seemingly defensive. Chris could be heard making fun of the people he’s filming, asking the rider what their pronouns are and insulting the rider some more. “You swerve because no one tells you,” the rider replies to Chris in the video. In the live streamed video, Chris threatens riders on an HSR bus after hurling transphobic slurs at them. (YouTube) Chris tells the rider to “get off the bus and tell me that” before threatening to hit the rider and making more transphobic comments. “If you’re a man, I’ll take you out,” he says in the video. Chris then proceeds to insult another rider for the next minute or so of the video. He then looks at a third rider, who is of colour, and makes a racist comment, suggesting the rider “go back to Pakistan”. As Chris begins to exit the bus, he accuses one of the first two riders of kicking him. “Do it again, baby,” he says as he holds a clenched fist to the face of one of the riders. “I’m going to kill your head,” he says as he exits the bus and begins walking through Gage Park, cursing some more.
Streamer discusses the rants in a separate video
In a separate live stream shortly after the incident, Chris said he ended the stream, made the video private and would likely delete it, calling it “insurance for myself.” “If I keep the flow going when I’m like this, you guys are going to keep boosting me,” he told his small group of viewers. Chris said it’s a “rare” encounter and “not my proudest moment,” but said he only made the video private to avoid being flagged by YouTube, adding that he’s not worried about breaking the law. “I took it a little hard. I noticed after this stream, I lost two [subscribers] … it is what it is, to all my local Hamiltonians, if you can’t handle s**t like that, then get off this channel,” he said. “I’m sorry if this content bothers you, but if it’s any consolation, it bothers me too. I don’t like being like this… I don’t know why I got so fired up,” she said. He did not respond to emails from CBC Hamilton and did not acknowledge comment from CBC Hamilton to respond to media requests in one of his live chats Monday afternoon.
The mayor called the video “reprehensible”
The video comes as Hamilton has seen a record number of hate crimes. In 2021, police reported 108 hate incidents (87 of which were not considered crimes), a 35 percent increase from 2020, but the rate is about average compared to previous years. If anyone witnessed this reprehensible incident or knows who this person is, please call Hamilton Hate Crimes Investigator Sergeant Rebecca Moran at 905-546-5511. To report anonymously, contact Crime Stoppers at:1-800- 222-8477 or https://t.co/BOevcTOANp —@HamiltonsMayor Statistics Canada’s recently released figures also show that the country has seen continued increases in rates of various criminal harassment and threatening behaviours. There were 2,073 hate crimes recorded in 2017 and last year there were 3,360 nationally. The number of reported hate crimes related to sexual orientation in Canada has more than doubled between 2017 and 2021 according to the statistics, rising from 204 to 423 respectively. Hamilton Police say they urge victims or witnesses to contact Hamilton Police Hate Crimes Investigator Sergeant Rebecca Moran at 905-546-5511 or Crime Stoppers. Mayor Fred Eisenberger also encouraged people to come forward, calling the incident “reprehensible.”
