After a spate of violent incidents on Metro, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Wednesday that she’s drafting a plan to put more cops on public transit.
“As chair of the Metro, I am right now working with my colleagues, the other members of the Board of Directors, on a motion that we will put forward at the next Metro meeting, which is next week,” she told reporters. “We’ll be calling for an increase of patrols, increased visibility on the buses and on the trains.”
This week, three separate attacks were reported on Metro within 24 hours. A woman was fatally stabbed at the Universal City/Studio City station last month. Hundreds of bus drivers staged a “sick-out” earlier this month in response to recent violence against drivers.
“At those lines here there have been acts of violence, I think that it would be helpful to the riders – because the riders tend to be a consistent group of people coming to and from work – if they see the physical, visible presence of officers,” she said.
Bass said she doesn’t know the exact reason for the uptick in violence, although she noted that ridership is up almost to pre-pandemic levels.
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L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who also serves on the Metro Board, told KNX News she believes Metro’s use of unarmed ambassadors instead of armed police was the “wrong approach.”
“I am very much focused on bringing law enforcement back to the table,” she said.
Eric Mann, co-chair of the Bus Riders Union, told KNX News that “99%” of incidents on Metro don’t require armed police, and having police present on buses and trains likely wouldn’t be effective at deterring or defusing violence.
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