Hi.
I was assaulted by a tram driver last year. I had trouble finding my ticket and the inspector became impatient and rude, even after showing my ticket. I started videoing on my phone and he went to tell the driver. The driver started shouting at me to "either turn it off or get off", he refused to listen to me when I tried telling him why I was recording and about my ticket, I kept stuttering and getting my words wrong because of verbal communication difficulties, and he accused me of being drunk. I refused to stop recording or get off, as I did nothing wrong. He then opened the tram doors and tried dragging me off. Another passanger had to intervene and the ticket inspector had to hold him back. He eventually looked at my ticket and the journey continued. It triggered a panic attack and I had to get off early. I reported it to the police, and they contacted me last week, 7 months later, saying it was assault but that it was my own fault for "goading" them by recording and they won't be progressing with the case. It was a very traumatic experience, I had to go on Diazepam for a while, and I keep having flashbacks. I complained to the tram company but nothing was done.
I was told by a solicitor on Facebook that it could be disability discrimination, but as it took the police 7 months to get back to me, it's past the 6 month deadline to report it as such.
Because I haven't been able to use the tram since because I don't feel safe on there. The police didn't seem to know the full details, thought I didn't have a valid ticket, said it didn't seem like I had a panic attack, blaming me for it all. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.