Threats, Slurs Against Bus Driver, Elmhurst Cops: Police

ELMHURST, IL – A man threatened an African American bus driver and Hispanic officers and leveled racial slurs at them, Elmhurst police said.

Last month, Patch reported on the arrest of James Joseph, 67, of Arlington Heights. On Thursday, police released the full police report in response to a public records request.

On the afternoon of Dec. 14, police were called about Joseph, who refused to get off a Pace bus at York Street and Cayuga Avenue.

Riding on a bus, Joseph threatened to kill the 41-year-old driver and her children for being late to his stop, according to the report.

The report said Joseph told officers, "You want to f--- with me? You come three strong. Guess what? I've done three strong. Pull your revolvers out right now."

Joseph, who is white, then repeatedly called the bus driver a "f-----g n----r b---h."

"She's full of s--t. That is why she is black," Joseph was quoted as saying. "When I was born in this country, there was no f-----g Latinos, no f-----g blacks."

Police said Joseph continued, "I'm a rich m-----f----r. That's why I don't take s--t from a f-----g n----r b---h."

When he was placed under arrest, Joseph yelled at the bus driver, "F-----g n----r b---h, you're gonna regret the day you were born," the report said.

In the squad car, police said, Joseph told two police officers with Hispanic surnames that he would send their "f-----g Latino a---s" back to Panama, "where you belong."

He called them "bull---- Latinos, saying they "listened to a n----r b---h," the report said.

He called one of the officers a "s--c," a slur used against Latinos, police said.

According to the report, a witness said he skipped his bus stop because he believed the bus driver's life was in danger in light of Joseph's threats. He was the only other passenger.

Joseph was charged with two counts of hate crimes and one count of disorderly conduct. He was taken to the DuPage County Jail.