A policing surge is coming to L.A. Metro. Critics call it more of the ‘same failed solution’
It’s Friday, May 17. At a news conference Thursday, L.A. Mayor and Metro board chair Karen Bass said she had directed “an immediate surge of law enforcement personnel on Metro buses, on rail cars and in stations to address this spike.” Bass also announced an upcoming board motion that would increase law enforcement deployment throughout the transit system. The surge would amount to “a minimum of dozens per day,” according to Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero, who added that Metro’s contracted law enforcement agencies are developing cost estimates. In a board committee meeting last March, Metro’s then-Chief Safety Officer Gina Osborn was asked about how law enforcement contractors responded to criticism about a lack of patrols on the system. ACT-LA is demanding that L.A. Metro rely less on armed policing and instead “address root issues by investing in health and safety strategies that work.” De Leon pointed to Metro’s transit ambassadors, the hundreds of unarmed, green-shirted staff members who walk stations and ride trains and buses, offering help to riders.
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