Former chief safety officer details Metro's safety concerns
LOS ANGELES - "With Metro, I saw the best of humanity and the worst of humanity," says Gina Osbourne, Metro's former Chief Safety Officer.
After two and a half years, Osbourne says she was fired for filing a complaint with the inspector general instead of going to Metro's CEO Stephanie Wiggins.
"I walked into my office, the chief police officer came in, along with the employee advocate, told me that I was terminated from Metro and that I needed to give them my badge and my phone, and they walked me out in front of my staff," says Osbourne.
She plans to sue Metro, Los Angeles County and Wiggins. Despite losing her job, Osborne says she still supports the hardworking Metro operators, and she's concerned for their safety and the safety of the passengers.
"My heart goes out to all of the frontline employees who are dealing with the violent crime and the violence that's happening on the system as well as to the riders," says Osbourne.
She had been pushing for Metro to have its own police department with officers who are engaged and proactive.
"We shouldn't have law enforcement simply there to respond to crimes or standing around thinking that their visibility is going to deter crime," Osbourne said, with a sense of urgency.
Osbourne recommends stopping people from using the Metro as shelter.
"Anybody who comes onto the Metro system should be there for the purpose of transportation, not to go and commit crime not to go and shelter on the system," she adds.
She also thinks Metro should have advanced technology.
"Putting artificial intelligence on the cameras, so that we can identify certain movements or certain things that are happening that we can intercede on so that a crime doesn't happen," Osbourne said.
Metro issued the following statement:
Metro does not comment on personnel matters.
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 adopting a care-based approach with ambassadors, homeless outreach, and crisis intervention teams.
Nearly 1 million people now use Metro every weekday, a number that has grown now for 17 straight months. As we've welcomed more people on to the system, we've also stepped up our efforts to make it safe, and those efforts are largely working. As a transit agency, Metro needs support from government and community partners to maintain a safe and reliable system.
