Civil Service Commission sustains 10-day suspension for Sun Metro operator after hearing officer review

The El Paso Civil Service Commission on March 13 sustained a 10-day suspension for Adriana Nunez, a transfer operator for Sun Metro, after accepting a hearing officer's recommendation.

Patricia Polifox, the hearing officer, told the commission she reviewed video evidence and witness testimony and "recommended that the suspension be sustained". Polifox said she considered Nunez's statement that she "was fearful" and thought the bus was being hijacked but concluded the video did not show the passenger was so close or aggressive as to justify that level of fear for a transit operator who interacts with many passengers. The commission heard testimony from the employee and from city representatives before voting.

Adriana Nunez told the panel she had worked for Sun Metro for nearly four years and described the incident that led to the discipline: a passenger reached into a coin dispenser on the fare box. Nunez said she asked the passenger to stop and later requested law enforcement; she told commissioners she was "very afraid and scared of him" and that her actions were intended to protect city property and her safety.

The city, represented by Assistant City Attorney Carlos Guomas Baca Jr., argued the operator failed to follow Sun Metro policy requiring employees to notify dispatch and not pursue fare disputes. Baca emphasized Sun Metro rules that employees "must not pursue the matter" after a reasonable effort to collect fare and that employees must treat customers courteously. The city also noted two prior disciplinary entries on Nunez's record that, when combined with the incident under review, placed the case on a matrix recommending a 10-day suspension.

Sun Metro Director Anthony DeKeyser explained drivers receive training in de-escalation and that the agency has been retrofitting buses with plexiglass/barricades and conducting additional training sessions; he said the agency treats operator safety as a priority. Commissioners asked about training frequency, review procedures, the fare-box mechanism and whether the passenger actually removed multiple coins. During discussion members weighed the training and safety context against the hearing officer's findings.

After discussion, a motion was made to accept the city's recommendation to sustain the 10-day suspension. The commission conducted a roll call vote: Woodrow Baer, Carlos Gonzales, Homero Lucero and Elsa Borrego voted to sustain; Commissioner Larry Bordas was absent. The chair announced the motion passed unanimously. The commission recorded the decision to sustain the hearing officer's recommendation and closed the item.

The record shows the commission considered the hearing officer's finding that the operator acted unprofessionally and did not provide identification when asked, the city's statements about policy and training, and testimony from the operator about fear and prior incidents. The disciplinary matrix cited in the hearing ties a third offense of the cited categories to a 10-day suspension and to termination for a subsequent offense.