You remember the article from last month: a young man stepping in to stop a violent assault on a Clallam Transit operator. In this podcast-only episode, you hear directly from him — Austin Wolfley, 28, a graveyard-shift worker who relies on Clallam Transit every night and morning to get to and from work.
Austin takes listeners beyond the viral clip and into the moments before and after the camera stopped rolling. He describes how riding the bus — and spending time at the Gateway Transit Center in downtown Port Angeles — has changed, especially for regular riders. He walks us through that early-morning ride home after a long night shift: headphones in, mind winding down, when a passenger on the bus began to escalate.
For the first time publicly, Austin talks about watching the video of the incident, why he carries a knife, and — with the benefit of hindsight — what he believes could have been handled differently. He also shares details that were never part of the public narrative: what happened after the video ended, what the police reports and court proceedings revealed, and where the attacker is today.
The conversation includes a very human note — Austin’s ongoing relationship with the transit operator he defended, whom he still sees regularly.
This is not a soundbite or a social-media clip. It is a candid, thoughtful, and at times uncomfortable conversation about public safety, accountability, and what everyday riders are experiencing on Clallam County’s transit system. If you want to understand what really happened — and what it says about where we are now — this is an episode worth listening to in full.
