CapMetro leaders and operators press for immediate security changes after on-board killing

Capital Metro leaders on May 19 addressed a fatal attack on one of the agency’s buses and heard more than two hours of public comment from current and former operators and other staff calling for faster, concrete safety measures.

The board’s president and CEO, Dottie Watkins, read a prepared statement and called for a moment of silence after the agency confirmed the death of a customer, identified in the agency release as Akshay Gupta. “We are heartbroken,” Watkins said in the statement read into the record, adding that the agency was “doing everything possible to support the passengers on board and the operator who acted with utmost professionalism under incredibly difficult circumstances.”

Why it matters: Operators said the death, and a spate of assaults and threats they described in public comment, show existing safety steps are insufficient. The comments accelerated a shift in the board’s publicly stated priorities: staff said safety is the number one near-term priority in the agency’s new strategic plan and that CapMetro will deploy its first transit police officers next month.

Public comment and staff response

More than two dozen employees and contractors spoke at the meeting. Several recounted recent assaults, sustained threats or ongoing safety hazards at stops and on vehicles. Common themes included slow police response times, gaps…