On October 22, 2016 at approximately 3:30 p.m. Transit Police officers assigned to the North District received a radio call to respond to the Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington for a report of an Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) bus operator who was assaulted. Upon arrival officers ascertained the following information: a male, later identified as Daniel Koolick, 21, of Burlington boarded an MBTA bus at Alewife station. While travelling through the Burlington Mall Koolick decided he wanted to exit the bus.
The MBTA bus operator/victim explained to Koolick he could not stop the bus in between stops but assured Koolick he would stop at the next stop, which was less then a minute away. This angered Koolick as he began screaming at the operator and kicking/breaking the doors and windows of the bus. Koolick then physically attacked the operator by grabbing him by the throat and screaming. "Do you want to die". Subsequently Koolick relinquished his grip on the victim's neck and fled off the bus.
