A Tagbilaran City traffic enforcer has been suspended after being involved in a heated altercation with a bus driver and another motorist along Gallares Street in the city on Wednesday.

According to City Traffic Management Office (CTMO) chief Tony Samante, traffic enforcer Felimon Legazpi was suspended for failing to issue a citation ticket to a traffic violator and engaging in a squabble with motorists.

Samante said that the suspension was ordered by Tagbilaran Mayor John Geesnell Yap due to the violations committed by Legazpi which were recorded on a cameraphone of a concerned citizen.

In the afternoon on Wednesday, the bus passed through Gallares Street while a truck ban was in effect along the said road, Samante said.

Legazpi then flagged down the traffic violator and asked for a special permit.

However, the driver who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol was unable to present a permit and reportedly conversed with the traffic enforcer defiantly.

This caused the scuffle between Legazpi and the bus driver to erupt while another motorist joined the altercation.

In the heat of the argument, both Legazapi and the male passerby at different times grabbed the bus driver by the shirt collar.

According to Samante, the said motorist allegedly then punched the bus driver after the bus inadvertently bumped his motorcycle causing it to fall to the side.

Samante said that after noticing that motorists in the area including Legazpi were ganging up on him, the bus driver immediately sped off.

The CTMO official admitted that Legazpi committed a violation by not exercising maximum tolerance during the incident prompting him to mete out the disciplinary action against the traffic enforcer.

Meanwhile, the motorist and the bus driver entered into an amicable settlement when they met at a police station. (Allen Doydora)