A 54-year-old Portland man filed a complaint in federal court Thursday alleging a TriMet bus driver violated his civil rights by refusing to let him board a bus because he is black.

Willie Taylor is asking for a federal jury trial to determine whether his rights to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution were violated when he says a white bus driver refused to let him board a bus July 30.

"I had never experienced anything like that," Taylor, who has lived in Portland since he was 12, said in an interview. His lawsuit includes pictures of his valid ticket from that day.

TriMet declined to comment on the case citing active litigation aside from nothing the bus driver has since retired.

Taylor said he stepped off a Line 73 bus at the Parkrose Transit Center in Northeast Portland on a sweltering day and planned to transfer to Line 71. Taylor's car was in an auto shop in the area, and he was running to pick up some supplies at the AutoZone on Cully Boulevard before dropping them off at the shop and taking transit to his art class at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.

He asked the male driver of the Line 71, who was outside of the bus at the time, when he planned to leave, and he waited on the platform.

According to Taylor, the driver got on the bus without alerting him, closed the door and refused to let Taylor onboard despite his pleas. The bus driver left the platform and subsequently stopped in the street and let a white woman board, according to Taylor's lawsuit.

"I felt like I was really disrespected," Taylor said.

He took pictures of the bus and his valid fare and filed a complaint with TriMet.

The lawsuit asks for "fair compensation" and for TriMet to change its policies and training to respect riders' equal protection rights under the constitution.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen