For those who grew up in the late 80s, you may remember McGruff the Crime Dog, the police mascot created by the Ad Council for the National Crime Prevention Council. His mission, to teach crime awareness among children and to ask them to help “take a bite out of crime.” Well, for someone who’s suppose to teach crime awareness, poor old McGruff sure didn’t see his attack coming.
According to authorities, McGruff became a static of crime himself when he was assaulted by a Metro bus driver who randomly sucker punched him in the face as a group of stunned children watched.
McGruff, a.k.a. D.C. police officer Tyrone Hardy, was passing out flyers to children Saturday when a Metro bus pulled up to the curb where he stood. For unprovked reasons, the bus driver, 38-year-old Shawn Brim, got out of the bus and slugged McGruff in the face with his closed fist.
McGruff staggered while children screamed. Brim then returned to his bus and drove off while a call of an assault on a police officer went out immediately over the police radio. Brim eventually was pulled over three blocks away and charged with simple assault. His arraignment date has yet to be scheduled.
Brim later told a supervisor that he was trying “to be funny.” Although no one else thought otherwise.
“But nobody here finds it funny, believe me…That kind of behavior is not tolerated.”