The TTC has reached a settlement with a Black rider who sued the agency for racial profiling after he was violently accosted by three fare inspectors last year.

In a statement released through his lawyer Thursday morning, Reece Maxwell-Crawford said he had met with TTC CEO Rick Leary on Wednesday to discuss his civil case as well as recent efforts the TTC has taken to address racial discrimination.

“It is very important to me that Mr. Leary has apologized on behalf of the TTC and that the lawsuit I started has been settled,” Maxwell-Crawford said.

He commended the transit agency for launching a system-wide anti-racism plan and instituting training aimed at tackling racial bias among employees.

“I think the improvements that the TTC intends to make will make our city stronger,” he said.

Maxwell-Crawford had been seeking $750,000 in damages for the incident, which took place on the St. Clair streetcar route on Feb. 18, 2018 and was captured in widely viewed cellphone video.

Maxwell-Crawford’s statement didn’t disclose the terms of the deal, but in an email his lawyer Cory Wanless said he and his client “are happy with the settlement.”

“I am very happy that the events of Feb. 18, 2018 will be put behind me,” Maxwell-Crawford said.

In the cellphone video and surveillance footage taken from the streetcar, Maxwell-Crawford, who was 19 at the time, can be seen being pushed to the floor of the streetcar by one of the transit officers. He then jumps back out towards the inspectors before being taken down. He can be heard shouting “You’re hurting me. I’m in pain,” as the transit officers pin him to the ground.

He said the altercation left him with a concussion, dislocated shoulder and back injuries.

The TTC’s initial investigation into the incident largely exonerated the officers involved. But a subsequent report from the city ombudsman into the transit agency’s investigation found it had serious flaws and failed to examine the possibility of racial bias.

The TTC agreed to implement the ombudsman’s recommendations to strengthen its investigation process, and to go further by adopting an anti-racism strategy.

At a press conference at city hall Thursday morning Leary said he apologized to Maxwell-Crawford for “the embarrassment and humiliation that was caused by the TTC.”

“It is my firm commitment to all Torontonians to do better and to improve relations between the TTC and the city’s Black and racialized communities,” he said.

Leary said work was already underway with the TTC’s anti-racism strategy, which includes updated mandatory training for employees about conscious and unconscious bias, a strengthened public complaints process, and a commitment to collect race-based data to help identify and eliminate discrimination on the transit system.

Two of the three inspectors who took down Maxwell-Crawford remain employed by the agency. The third resigned for reasons “unrelated” to a complaint lodged against him, according to the TTC.

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Asked how he squares the inspectors remaining on staff with efforts to eliminate bias at the agency, Leary said he wouldn’t discuss personnel matters.

“I’m really looking, moving forward, to make a difference,” he said.

With files from Jennifer Yang