Get Safer Transit Its Day in Court - Chs. v. Flowers Assault on a CARTA Bus

Image, Above, Bus Stop on Meeting Street in Downtown Charleston. After people complained about the bench and the people waiting, it was removed. After public outcry, a new bench was installed. No-one in this image was involved in the incident. 

In June 2024, William J. Hamilton, Executive Director of Best Friends of Lowcountry transit was attacked on the #20 Upper King Bus. The man who attacked him, Ronald Flowers, is a chronic and notorious street bully and criminal in the city. He has been banned from CARTA's buses at least once before. Flowers is currently under a restraining Order prohibiting him from riding any CARTA Bus or loitering at or in the immediate vicinity of any CARTA bus stop. If you see him doing either, you should report it to the bus driver and call 911 immediately. 

Image, Right of Mr. Flowers taken immediately after the attack.

The next hearing in this case will be heard on

Please note correction of Weekday
Friday, August 16, 2024 at 8:30 am at the
Municipal Court at 180 Lockwood Drive
(on the CARTA/DASH 213 bus route)
See Google Maps Entry to put on your calendar.  

This will only be a status conference where Flowers will enter a plea, his court appointed public defender will appear with him, he will renew his plea of not guilty and a date will be set for trial. This hearing will be brief, but it's a good, short opportunity for transit riders and their friends to show the city and court that this case, and others like it should be taken seriously. 

Read the Statement Hamilton filed with the Police about the attack. 

Before and at the hearing, William Hamilton will ask the Prosecutor and the Court to Charge Mr. Flowers with the additional charge of violating SC Code 58-23-1830 which prohibits does not allow any passenger to "(4) obstruct, hinder, interfere with, or otherwise disrupt or disturb the operation or operator of a public transportation vehicle." in addition to the outstanding charge of 3rd. Degree Assault, which could add another 30 days to the Defendant's sentence. Read the SC Law

Most of the people Flowers harms are struggling to make ends meet and have the overwhelming problems one would expect of anyone who has to rely on public transit in the South.  Mr. Flowers knows that most of his victims won't be able to support a prosecution against him. They can't spare the time from work for court. They can't pressure elected officials to do their jobs. He knows that most of the time, he can get away with it. 

How One Assault Impacts the Entire Community

The two most often cited reasons why local people do not ride the bus is fear of crime and difficulty reaching or spending time waiting at bus stops. This reduces bus ridership and cripples attempts to improve service. 

After Mr. Flowers was arrested and placed in jail, there was a noticeable increase in ridership on the #20 bus It's clear his presence depressed ridership. People who were working class, disabled, elderly or poor chose to walk miles rather than risk being on the bus with him.

Flowers is not the only such offender. Unfortunately, when transit riders have problems like this, we are in the hands of people who have the privilege of driving cars wherever they want to go. One of the reasons drivers spend thousands of dollars a year buying and maintaining an automobile is to escape the risk of being attacked by someone like Flowers. They see transit riders as people too lazy or incompetent to obtain an automobile, people who deserve the abuse they receive. Their unstated belief is that car ownership is a burden every socially competent adult is required to bear, not the massive, publicly subsidized privilege it actually is. They're content to know that people like Mr. Flowers reinforce the value of their automobiles and validate their operation of them.

This has been the situation on transit in the US since shortly after the end of WWII, encouraged by lobbying and social manipulation by a trade group working for the automobile, petroleum and tire industries. Fear helps sell cars, gas and tires. 

It is also the reason why Charleston has ineffective transit, ridership which has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and traffic congestion which is making life in the Lowcountry increasingly difficult. 

Only the people riding transit can change this. It's a national problem, but we will impact it on a local level. Charleston is our home. These are our buses. This is an election year. We're going to use this case and the Freedom of Information Act to encourage local officials to act. This is the exact reason why the 5th. Amendment guarantees public trials. 

Half SC's population doesn't have a driver's license. They  shouldn't  be relegated to humiliation, abuse and injury because they can't driver a car. We will be forced to endure mistreatment and abuse until we stand up. 

It should be noted that our buses are generally safe and many wonderful people ride them. This is the only serious negative experience Hamilton has had since he began riding local transit in 1976. 

Please note that if you see these materials and are called to serve upon the Jury, you should report your exposure to these materials to the Judge. The Judge will probably excuse you and you may be assigned to another case. Mr. Flowers is entitled to a fair trial by an impartial Judge and Jury. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We're confident that the quality of the evidence (which includes a full video of the incident) will support a just verdict.

For more information contact

William J. Hamilton, III

Attorney at Law, Ex. Director, Best Friends of Lowocuntry Transit, Inc. 
wjhamilton29464@gmail.com
(843) 870-5299