A viral video of a woman getting pulled off a TTC streetcar by a police officer over the weekend is sparking renewed debates about safety throughout the transit network, Toronto's police budget, as well as resources for those experiencing homelessness and mental health crises.

The video, shared by @toronto_only, shows a woman getting pulled off a 503 streetcar by a police officer just outside King subway station. The incident reportedly occurred on Saturday, Feb. 3, at approximately 9 p.m. 

While it's not exactly clear why the woman was forcibly removed from the streetcar, one commuter took to the comments section of the video to provide some much-needed context. 

"I was in the streetcar and saw everything. This lady was cussing at everyone at the door and was blocking the doors from closing. I have no idea why she was so hysterical and this off-duty policeman who had just boarded the car went straight to her and kicked her out," a passenger on the streetcar wrote. 

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While some quickly commended the officer for kicking the woman off the streetcar, others stressed that those experiencing mental health issues throughout the transit network should be approached by and responded to by trained professionals. 

"I was on a bus with this woman later that night and saw her get violently assaulted by another passenger," another comment reads. 

The commenter explains that the passenger "was clearly not well and that makes you extremely vulnerable in this society. All these comments saying she 'got what she deserved' by getting shoved by a cop and that you're 'tired of people like this on the TTC,' where is your compassion?" 

"A lot of people in our city are not okay right now and suffering horribly, and rather than advocate for services that could help them and make our city safer for everyone, we just gleefully cheer on violence toward our society’s most vulnerable," the comment continues. 

Hopefully this helps commuters feel safe again on the TTC!🙌https://t.co/MRxY4L2X9j #Toronto #TTC

— blogTO (@blogTO) September 20, 2023

Others echoed this sentiment, with one person writing, "She clearly had mental issues and that doesn't mean to handle her like that. We really need trained people for this." 

Another person added, "She must be having a bad day...it happens. Everyone deals with a different way." 

However, others weren't so empathetic and applauded the police officer for removing the passenger from the streetcar. "Thank you, policeman! If you don't want to be thrown out then don't cause a disturbance on public transit," one response reads. 

blogTO reached out to both the TTC and Toronto Police Service regarding the incident, however, neither have provided any additional information at the time of publication.