S.F. Muni driver unloads on officials -- is glad he packed a gun

By KEVIN LEARY
San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bus driver Hal Womack calls himself a peaceful
man, but credits his gun for possibly saving him -- and his
riders -- from harm.

On Wednesday night, Womack shot a passenger after both he and the
man had gotten off the bus -- wounding the knee of a rider whose
behavior had frightened his mostly elderly passengers.

Womack said that even though he Municipal Railway may fire him, he
took the only action he could in difficult and dangerous
circumstances.

"I really regretted using my weapon because I know the city's and
the Muni's attitude, but I'm sure glad I had it," said the burly,
bearded Womack in an interview at John's Cafe, a coffee shop on
Geary Boulevard where drivers hang out awaiting a shift change.

The San Francisco District Attorney's Office yesterday dropped
charges against Womack of assault and possession of a weapon. It
also dropped the felony assault charge against Dallas L. Johnson,
21, the rider in the altercation, who was wounded in the right
leg.

Womack isn't satisfied. He said that if District Attorney Arlo
Smith doesn't prosecute Johnson for a felony assault that happened
before 15 passengers, "then he is saying it's OK to assault Muni
bus drivers."

Johnson was freed from jail after the charges were dropped and
couldn't be reached for comment.

Womack must still face a dismissal hearing for carrying a weapon
while driving the bus, which Muni officials regard as a "very
serious infraction," according to spokesman Alan Siegel.

Womack, 48, has been a driver for 12 years, and his regular bus is
the 5-Fulton. He said he began carrying a palm-size .25-caliber
Beretta in 1982 after he was attacked by a passenger and punched
repeatedly in the left eye. He said that assault caused permanent
eye damage.

"I started packing a gun after the first assault," he said. "It
was a real heavy psychological trip because I am a peaceful man,
but it has given me peace of mind."

He said the shooting Wednesday was the first time he had ever felt
the need to use the pistol on the Muni and the first time he has
ever fired it at anyone.

But off-duty he has drawn his pistol twice -- once when two young
men were about to attack him on Market Street with metal pipes and
another time when a man pulled a hunting knife on him. Both
incidents ended peacefully.

Womack isn't your usual bus driver.

He graduated from the University of Texas in 1966 with a degree in
philosophy. He studied political science at the University of
Pittsburgh for a year and was a fellow of the Russian Institute
in New York City, where he led a seminar on the history of the Cold
War.

He joined the Municipal Railway in 1981.

Wednesday's violence began at 6:08 p.m. It was getting dark when
two men got aboard at the 46th Avenue stop.

"They were young and vigorous and sat in the back seat talking to
each other very loudly; then they began to cuss," Womack recalled.

About 15 other passengers, most of them elderly, sat quietly and
fearfully, he said.

When he asked them to quiet down, Womack said, the man he
identified as Johnson threatened him with his fists. Womack called
Central Control to say he needed to have the passengers removed
from the bus.

Johnson demanded to be let off the bus. When Womack stopped at
30th Avenue and opened the door, he said, Johnson jumped at him
and hit him repeatedly in the face.

"I kicked him in the chest to keep him away and he comes back with
another good blow to my forehead," the driver said.

Womack said Johnson then walked away from the bus.

"I got off the bus to clear my head and think about what to do
next, and when he sees I'm off the bus he turns around and said,
'You want some more, huh?'

"I just stood and looked at him. He sprints back toward me. When
h3e was about five feet away, I draw the .25 and showed it to
him," Womack said. "He stopped and said, 'Shoot me.'

"Then he reached for a chain that ran from his neck to his pocket
and tugged at it as though to use it for a weapon or pull
something out of his pocket. I shot once into the ground; he
continues to move toward me. He was either hopped up or acting
under orders for promise of payment."

Womack said he then shot Johnson twice, hitting him at least once
in the right knee.

Womack figured he saved himself -- and maybe his passengers --
from serious injury.

"I still have these problems that I have to resolve with the city
and the company," he said, "but I'm glad I used the gun."