Gina Osborn was Metro's first-ever chief of public safety…until the end of March, when she was relieved of her position.
There were three stabbings on Metro just this week alone, raising questions about the transit agency’s efforts to ensure the safety of its riders. Osborn told KNX News’ Charles Feldman these issues are nothing new – and she was fired just days after reporting concerns to the Inspector General.
On March 15, Osborn said sheriff’s deputies were missing from their fixed posts at the Downtown Santa Monica and APU/Citrus College stations. She later found out the deputies were at a golf tournament hosted by the LASD Transit Services Bureau.
“As tax-paying citizens, I would be very concerned that over $200 million is going to these law enforcement agencies and they aren't where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there,” she said.
Shortly before her termination, Osborn said she emailed Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins 15 pages of “performance deficiencies” she’d observed either personally or on CCTV footage. In one incident, a man died on a Metro platform bench around 10 a.m. and remained slumped over for five hours before a Metro ambassador performed a wellness check.
“During that five hour period, five LAPD officers were on and off that platform yet never checked on or approached that individual,” Osborn said.
Osborn’s attorney, Marc Greenberg, said that Osborn was fired “within a couple of days” of bringing her concerns to the Inspector General.
“The fact, I think, that Gina went to the Inspector General and those reports go directly to the [Metro] Board was very upsetting to Miss Wiggins, that she wants to try to control what gets to the Board and what gets out to the press,” Greenberg said.
Osborn noted that one of this week’s stabbings happened in Glendale, where Metro contracts with the LASD – but it was Glendale Police who ultimately arrived and apprehended the suspects.
“Where were the Transit Services Bureau deputies when this stabbing took place?” she asked.
Osborn placed the blame for Metro’s continued safety failures on Wiggins, who she said “had a lot of opportunities in order to increase safety on the system, and she elected not to approve certain things that I put forward.”
"Metro does not comment on personnel matters," the agency said in a statement to KNX News. "That said, public safety is Metro's top priority. Most security incidents arise from untreated mental illness and drug addiction. Although Metro didn't create these issues, we must manage them. We're increasing law enforcement presence, enhancing cameras, lighting, and barriers, and exploring fare gate designs. We're also employing a care-based approach with ambassadors, homeless outreach, and crisis intervention teams."
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