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VIA WASHINGTON EXAMINER:

The Metrobus operator who was charged with soliciting sex from an undercover police officer while driving his bus was fired on Monday, according to the transit agency.

Shawn W. Todd had been on paid administrative leave since he was arrested in the early morning hours of April 3, as first reported in the Washington Examiner.

He had been on duty, driving a D12 bus to Southern Avenue, when he was arrested and charged with solicitation, according to Metro. A police source had told the Washington Examiner that the bus driver waved over what he thought was a prostitute, then apparently offered the undercover officer $10 for sexual favors.

Todd could not be reached on Monday and his attorney, Marian Flynn, declined to comment. His union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, issued a terse statement saying only that it will investigate his firing “if and when Mr. Todd files a grievance against the termination.”

Todd had been a Metrobus driver since 2008, according to Metro.

He is among the latest Metro drivers caught up in bad publicity. Just the day before his arrest, another Metrobus driver was arrested after allegedly displaying a knife to a motorist while operating his route. Then, last Thursday, a MetroAccess driver was arrested and charged with a third-degree sex offense and second-degree assault in connection with a reported sexual assault involving a MetroAccess customer on Jan. 28.

He is among the latest Metro drivers caught up in bad publicity. Just the day before his arrest, another Metrobus driver was arrested after allegedly displaying a knife to a motorist while operating his route. Then, last Thursday, a MetroAccess driver was arrested and charged with a third-degree sex offense and second-degree assault in connection with a reported sexual assault involving a MetroAccess customer on Jan. 28.

Metro also fired a bus driver last month who had been photographed texting from behind the wheel.

Last year, the agency had said it was tightening its hiring standards and its disciplinary actions after a series of problems: One driver was charged with kidnapping a passenger, one was fatally shot in a botched robbery attempt by an off-duty cop, another was arrested after punching a cop dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog, and several were fired for using cell phones while operating their Metro vehicles.

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