Detroit, Michigan Releases Bus Video of Two Horses Led Through a DDOT Bus

The city of Detroit released surveillance video on Thursday that shows, from inside and outside a city bus, the moment two people boarded with horses in tow.

The footage, which the city provided to the Detroit Free Press, combines several angles in one clip that runs 1 minute and 35 seconds. It shows the bus driver welcoming the men and their horses onto the bus.

"If he can get in here, it is what it is," the driver says, chuckling, in the clip. "Hey, you want me to let them in?" The driver says the words "service animal" a few times. A ramp is lowered from the front door while a passenger on the bus and the driver smile and laugh. The owners then lead their horses in through one entrance and promptly out through another.

No other passengers can be seen in the footage. "That's crazy," the driver says. A passenger can be heard saying, "We good." The bus then rolls away, leaving the horses and their owners behind at the stop.

A Saturday stunt that went viral on Monday

The scene happened on Saturday at Seven Mile Road and Strasburg Street. A video filmed from outside the bus by Facebook user Ellessia Drew went viral on social media on Monday, and the Detroit Department of Transportation opened an investigation. The city confirmed the outside video was real.

Jordan Williams, a co-founder of Urban City Cowboys, said he was the man with the horses. Williams was in Detroit as part of a fundraiser that gave horseback rides to children, and he spotted a chance for a viral video, according to reports on the stunt. He told WXYZ that he spoke with the driver through the bus door before walking the horses on and back off, and that he has brought horses onto DDOT buses on other routes in past years.

The city answers on Thursday

In a statement on Thursday, the city said DDOT welcomes service animals when they meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, and that the horses were apparently brought on the bus for other reasons. Alexis Ware, deputy director of media relations for the mayor's office, said the city does not typically comment on disciplinary action. She said DDOT officials have spoken to the bus driver, and that everyone in the department will receive training to make sure they are aware of the different policies.

"We recognize that the actions in the video were meant to draw awareness to a positive cause. And we also acknowledge that this presented safety concerns for other passengers on public transit and for the horses themselves," the city statement said. "This is an opportunity to retrain DDOT bus operators and to educate our Detroit residents on everything that we are doing to guarantee safe, timely and high-quality service through DDOT."

In a statement earlier this week, DDOT said the incident is not consistent with its policy and "potentially creates an unsafe and uncomfortable ride for our passengers." The department said service animals must be under the control of the person with a disability at all times, must not occupy a seat, and must sit on the floor or on the person's lap. Horses do not meet that policy. No discipline for the driver has been announced.