A Kent man was arrested in Bellevue earlier this month on charges of malicious harassment after he allegedly threatened to physically harm a man and yelled multiple race-fueled comments.

On March 8, just shortly before 9 p.m., Bellevue police responded to the downtown transit center on Northeast 6th Street, following a report of a disturbance on a bus.

When officers arrived, they located the victim, whose name is withheld in reports. Police described the victim as being “shaky” and “visibly scared.”

The victim said suspect Todd Ramey, 49, sitting two seats in front of him on the bus, allegedly called him a “stupid Hispanic” and said he was going to kill him, after the victim asked to be left alone, according to the police report.

The victim also heard Ramey, a white man, state that the victim “hates white men because you’re Mexican.” The yelling went on for about 20 minutes and the victim attempted to get the driver’s attention, but was unsuccessful.

As Ramey began to dig through his bag, the victim became frightened that he was going to attempt to attack him with a gun or knife. The victim recorded 10 minutes of the loud yelling threats on his cell phone.

As the victim walked to leave the bus, Ramey again challenged to fight him. The victim was frightened, he said, partly due to Ramey being larger in stature. According to state license information obtained by Bellevue police, Ramey was listed as 6 feet 2 inches and 270 pounds. The victim measured at 5 feet 5 inches tall and 150 pounds.

The threats were racially fueled, the victim believed, due to the man yelling at no one but him and a black female also on the bus, even though others were also commuting on the bus.

The bus driver heard some of what was alleged, and confirmed that the suspect did in fact yell what sounded like racial statements toward the victim. He also overhead Ramey threaten to beat the victim.

In his statement given to police, Ramey said he was trying to talk to the victim, but that the victim had headphones on. And when Ramey talked louder so that the victim could hear him, the victim got aggressive.

Ramey was transported to King County Jail and faces malicious harassment charges. He pled not guilty during his arraignment in superior court on March 27.





