L.A. County Metro Stations Increase Security After String Of Scares
UNIVERSAL CITY (CBSLA.com) – L.A. County Metro stations are beefing up their security.
L.A. County Sheriff's deputies would no longer be solely responsible for patrolling trains and buses as of Saturday.
Now, LAPD officers are taking over patrol of Metro areas in the city.
Long Beach officers will patrol their city's areas; and sheriff's deputies will patrol buses and rails for the rest of the county.
The changes come after a series of recent scares made headlines.
A week-and-a-half ago, deputies arrested a man with an arsenal of weapons at a Pasadena gold-line station, including a loaded AR-15, a .40-caliber pistol, a machete-style knife, silencers and ammunition.
A few months ago, a man was stabbed to death at a Metro station in Koreatown. And last September, a struggle on a bus in Panorama City led to a deputy-involved shooting.
Metro is now trying to bolster security, approving a contract to put more law enforcement officers around public transit.
Riders we talked to are relieved.
"Especially at night," said Willy Molina. "I think you would feel more secure if you see somebody in uniform."