A Madison bus driver has been fired after Metro Transit officials completed an internal investigation into an incident in which the driver sped off with a man clinging to the outside of a bus, city officials said Monday.

Kris S. Burke, 31, who had worked for Metro since December 2004, was terminated as of last Thursday, almost a month after the July 29 incident in which he barred passenger Michael Cooper from boarding the bus near the Walgreen Drug Store on Verona Road.

Cooper spent a harrowing 73 seconds hanging on to the side-view mirror of the bus at speeds of up to 35 mph over a half-mile stretch near Verona Road and the Beltline, according to Madison police. Metro officials said a passenger told Burke that Cooper had earlier urinated on the bus — a claim Cooper denies — prompting Burke to bar him from the bus.

Burke is concerned that the portrayal of Cooper as a victim has been misleading, said Sherman Hackbarth, one of his attorneys. Burke wouldn't comment Monday.

Burke radioed Metro after Cooper exited the bus and a passenger told Burke that Cooper had urinated in the back, Hackbarth said. Burke radioed Metro again and asked them to call police after Cooper chased the bus and clung to the front of the vehicle, Hackbarth said.

Hackbarth said the sequence of events presented a "complicated situation."

"Our client at that moment didn't know what to do," Hackbarth said. "Kris was scared and confused. He felt that this gentleman jumping on this bus put everybody in danger."

Cooper said he grabbed on to the side-view mirror to get the driver's attention.

Burke has filed a lawsuit against Metro to prevent the agency from releasing his personnel records. Hackbarth said the restraining order request includes any video footage related to the incident, which he said he hasn't seen.

Metro general manager Chuck Kamp said the agency is waiting until a criminal investigation is complete before releasing the bus surveillance footage.

District Attorney Brian Blanchard said his office was still reviewing the case.