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Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday that the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on the city's light rail system was "a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates" and announced new steps to increase transit security.
In a letter to the community, Lyles said police repeatedly arrest offenders only to see them quickly released, undermining public safety. She called for bipartisan solutions to address repeat offenders — Brown had been arrested more than a dozen times in recent years — and expand treatment for people with mental illness.
Lyles said the Charlotte Area Transit System has doubled the number of security personal over the past two years and tripled its safety budget to nearly $18 million. Effective immediately, she said security officers will be redeployed to Blue Line platforms, fare enforcement will increase and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police will step up patrols at key areas of the system. CATS has employed private security guards to patrol the system, rather than CMPD.
She said additional measures are planned in the coming weeks, including the introduction of bike units and urban terrain vehicles, and the hiring of nearly 30 more security staff. The Charlotte City Council is also expected to vote Sept. 22 on expanding CATS' authority to provide security around the transit system.
The new measures come after 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a Blue Line train on Aug. 22. Police have charged 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, who officials said was riding without a ticket. Brown's mother told WSOC-TV her son suffered from schizophrenia. The killing was the first reported homicide on the light rail since it opened in 2007.
The release of surveillance video of the stabbing last week drew national attention and criticism from Republicans, including members of the Trump administration and the president himself, who blamed Democrats and city leaders for "woke agendas." Lyles had previously urged media outlets not to share the footage out of respect for Zarutska's family.
Full letter to the community from Mayor Vi Lyles:
To the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community,
As I reflect on the tragic murder of Iryna Zarutska, my heart continues to go out to her family and our community as we try to make sense of this horrific and senseless loss.
Over the past several weeks, as our community has worked to understand this, what we know is that this was a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates. Our police officers arrest people only to have them quickly released, which undermines our ability to protect our community and ensure safety. We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets. We have partnered before on legislation like North Carolina’s pre-trial integrity act, and we stand ready to partner again at the local, state, and federal level.
I want to assure the community that we are taking action, and we will continue to take action.
Last week, CATS leadership presented to Charlotte City Council and the Metropolitan Transit Commission about the ongoing work to address safety and security on our public transit system. Over the past two years, we have doubled the number of CATS security personnel, tripled the safety and security budget from $5.8 million to nearly $18 million, and are shifting from a corporate security model towards a stronger transit policing model.
Effective immediately, CATS security personnel will be re-deployed for a stronger presence on Blue Line platforms and to increase fare enforcement. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will also be increasing patrols at key areas across the transit system. These changes will allow CATS to fully execute the transit system policing plan, including the Blue Line.
Over the next two to three weeks CATS will be rolling out new safety operations including bike units and urban terrain vehicles. CATS is actively recruiting and will be adding nearly 30 additional security personnel over the next few months. CATS will also be bringing an agreement for council approval to Council’s next business meeting on September 22 which will expand the authority of CATS to provide security around the transit system.
Residents across our community and visitors to our region depend on public transit. We owe it to them to make sure our public transit system and our city are safe and secure.
