Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
JUNE 25, 2020
Subject
SUBJECT: METRO RESPONSE TO DEMONSTRATIONS FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE staff report on Metro's actions in response to demonstrations and civil unrest during the weekend of May 30, 2020 and after-action plans.
Issue
ISSUE
In response to correspondence from CEO Phillip A. Washington to the Metro Board of Directors on June 3, 2020, "Service Suspension and Police Transport on Saturday, May 30, 2020," Metro Vice Chair and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a letter (Attachment A) on June 12, 2020 to Mr. Washington requesting a staff report describing Metro's decision-making steps and its obligations to provide mutual aid. This report responds to Mayor Garcetti's request.
Background
BACKGROUND
Since May 28, 2020, growing frustration over the death of George Floyd and other black men and women over the years manifested in demonstrations in cities across the United States. While the vast majority of these gatherings were peaceful in nature, a number of them took a destructive turn.
Metro's suspended transit services on Saturday, May 30 from approximately 8:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Sunday, May 31 to ensure the safety of our transit riders and employees when it became apparent that some protests devolved into civil unrest. Service resumed as scheduled at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 31.
Numerous inquiries have sought clarification on Metro's reference to our obligations under the California Disaster and Civil Defense Master Mutual Aid Agreement. This staff report seeks to clarify our understanding of those obligations.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Service Suspension
Metro does not take service suspension lightly. Throughout the afternoon of May 30, Metro received multiple reports from across the County of operators, passengers, and supervisors being trapped on board buses and surrounded by protestors, numerous acts of vandalism on ...
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