Does L.A. need more cops on Metro? The Bus Riders Union says no.

Los Angeles Metro drivers are concerned about the agency’s failure to protect them after a series of violent attacks by passengers. But is beefing up police presence on public transit the best solution?

Not according to Eric Mann, co-chair of the Bus Riders Union .

“We have a growing poverty problem in the city, houselessness, and yes, some mental instability. None of that is a crime and none of that is a safety problem,” he told KNX News Chief Correspondent Charles Feldman. “Once you say safety, you mean police. We oppose that.”

Mann said we don’t need Metro drivers in “ hermetically sealed cocoons ” because they’re afraid of the passengers

“They don't treat the passengers as customers. They treat them as criminals,” he said. “They imprison people for not paying their fare. They fine people for not paying their fare when they have no money.”

The solution the Bus Riders Union proposed to Mayor Karen Bass: insead of putting police officers on buses and trains, hire 500 unarmed community ambassadors trained in conflict resolution. Mann said “99%” of the incidents Metro drivers deal with – like people screaming or urinating on buses – don’t require armed police.

As for the rare situations where violent passengers are armed with knives or guns, Mann agreed the police would need to be called, but he questions the idea that having police already present would effectively deter or diffuse violence.

“I think here's the myth about police: there could be a policeman on the same bus, somebody comes up and shoots you in the head, and you think that policeman protected you?” he said. “The policeman will probably arrest your mother.”

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He added that one rare example of a shooting would be used as justification “to arrest 5,000 bus riders for being late to work or for urinating on the bus or even challenging the driver.”

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