Calgary police charge man in CTrain assault captured on video
Posted Mar 24, 2025 1:14 pm.
Last Updated Mar 24, 2025 7:00 pm.
Calgary police say a man is facing charges after an assault on a CTrain platform that was captured on video.
Footage began circulating on a Calgary Reddit page over the weekend that appears to show a man grabbing a young woman by her jacket before repeatedly shaking her and slamming her into the walls of a transit shelter at the City Hall/Bow Valley College Station.
The man ultimately walked away through a crowd of bystanders.
Police say in a social media statement that on Sunday, around 1:40 p.m., a woman was standing on the south side of the 3 Street SE CTrain station platform when she was approached by a man she didn’t know.
According to investigators, the man grabbed her water bottle and splashed water in her face. The man then grabbed and violently shook her and demanded her phone, before fleeing the scene without her phone, allowing the woman to call police.
One witness who appears in the video as a bystander tells CityNews he has seen online comments suggesting he should have stepped.
“I did not want to put my hands on him because I don’t want to get violated or anything like that,” he says. “I just feel like for my safety and for others safety, next time if something like this happens, just call for help and push the help button.”
Police were able to find Braydon Joseph James French, 31, about 25 minutes later and arrested him thanks to the help of witnesses. French was charged with one count of attempted robbery.
Calgary police say the woman has been offered support, but is respectfully asking for privacy at this time.
Police say the incident isn’t believed to be racially motivated at this time, but their Diversity Resource Team is engaging with the community impacted by this incident.
“Thanks to the support of witnesses in the area and to the swift actions of our members, we were able to make an arrest within 25 minutes of this incident,” CPS District 1 commander, Insp. Jason Bobrowich said. “These types of incidents cause concern in the community & will not be tolerated in our city.”
Anyone with additional information is being urged to contact police at 403-266-1234, or submit tips to CrimeStoppers anonymously.
