Man guilty of ‘senseless’ attack on Calgary bus operator sentenced to four years
Posted Jun 20, 2026 11:04 am.
A man who pled guilty to a “senseless” attack on a bus operator in northeast Calgary in 2025 has been sentenced to four years in prison, a judge ruled Friday.
The man, 21-year-old Curtis Baker Spence, pled guilty to the violent attack on a 67-year-old Calgary bus driver, Amarjit Grewal, earlier in the year.
Grewal was attacked with a collapsible baton and an edged weapon in the city’s northeast in the area of Falconridge and Castleridge Boulevards. at around 1 a.m. in May 2025.
It happened after Spence and his brother, 23-year-old Darryl Flett, demanded that the driver take them to another location.
The courtroom ruling was handed down as transit union members rallied outside city hall, pushing for better protections for workers.
The yellow shirts they’re wearing read “Assault a Transit Operator Go to Jail,” as they made their way from city hall to the courtroom gallery for the sentencing hearing for Spence.
“Nobody recognizes the impact on the industry, right now Calgary Transit is trying to hire 800 transit operators, that’s a significant number, but they can’t,” said Mike Mahar, the president of ATU Local 583.
Spence pleaded guilty to robbery for the attack earlier in the year, received credit for 13 months already served, and was given a 10-year weapons prohibition.
The crown asked for four and a half years in prison, while the defence asked for three and a half years. The judge arrived at four in part due to what he called the “senseless nature of the attack,” along with his previous criminal record.
The judge also took into account that Spence’s background growing up Indigenous, with statements to the police and noting a troubled upbringing that included growing up in foster care and violence.
“Transit operators work alone early in the morning or late at night they deal with all members of the public and in all different states, and they are entitled to protection of the law,” said crown prosecutor Greg Piper.
Grewal was seriously injured and off work for more than a year, was at the rally and in court, where security camera footage was shown of the two men using a baton and edged weapon in the incident.
Court heard he is unable to work, but he hopes to return one day.
“What we need to do in this upcoming budget is to hire to provide funding to hire more transit peace officers so we can properly properly do enforcement and safety patrols on buses,” said Ward 5 councillor Raj Dhaliwal.
Spence is expected to be released in October of 2028. Meanwhile, Flett is expected to stand in court in August. He pled guilty to assault on Friday.
