A MARTA police officer should have been riding the route where a bus driver was fatally shot last week, two transit union leaders said Thursday.
Leaders of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732, which represents MARTA drivers, said the route Leroy Ramos was driving is known among drivers as challenging with frequent safety concerns. President Britt Dunams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it is one of five that MARTA police have singled out for additional monitoring because of the number of incidents, an account Vice President Natasha Taylor also shared during public comments to MARTA’s board of directors.
Dunams said the union believes there wasn’t an officer on the route when Ramos was shot because of staffing issues: Officers had been reassigned to help with the preparations for former President Jimmy Carter’s memorial services, which began in Atlanta the following day and involved 60 hours of continuously operated MARTA bus shuttles.
“They were staging for that, and no one was here,” Dunams said in an interview.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
A MARTA spokesperson partly disputed that account. Stephany Fisher said that while MARTA police regularly examine crime data to determine where to assign plainclothes officers, the route Ramos was driving is not currently assigned one. Fisher would not say whether officers were reassigned because of the memorial services.
“MPD will not comment on operational movement or staffing assignments,” she said in a statement.
MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood has condemned the shooting and said the transit agency is devastated. The board held a moment of silence to honor Ramos at the start of its meeting Thursday.
Ramos was shot during an argument that took place off the bus, and MARTA has said it was the result of a dispute over the $2.50 fare. Another person suffered minor injuries in the shooting when a bullet ricocheted. Three juveniles, whose names and ages have not been released, have been arrested and charged with murder.
It’s not clear whether the suspects were entering or exiting the bus, which was at the end of its route. It’s also unclear whether Ramos requested MARTA police or other law enforcement assistance before the shooting.
A two-minute video taken by a bystander and posted on social media shows a portion of the argument where a man can be heard saying he was spat on. Family members said that was Ramos speaking.
Dunams said police staffing issues are a frequent concern. He said the police department is underfunded, putting MARTA bus drivers even more at risk at a time when assaults against transit operators are increasing nationally. Drivers are barraged daily with verbal and physical assaults, he said, a concern echoed in public comments by multiple operators who told the board they’ve had riders masturbate on them, spit on them and hit them with a gun.
Drivers said what they’re asked to deal with isn’t reasonable.
Ramos’ family said he had been threatened by a passenger on a different route just a day before he was fatally shot. His daughter, Timmaya Ramos-Beavers, told the AJC he was substituting for another driver when he was shot at the Decatur bus station off Swanton Way. His sister, Tavisha Byrd, said he’d dealt with other incidents, too.
Ramos had been driving for MARTA since October but had worked for other transit agencies for a decade before that, family said.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
“Two months in your MARTA system and he’s gone,” sister Natasha Ramos said. “Nobody should have to lose their life going to work.”
His daughter said Ramos told his wife he didn’t want to go to work on the day of the shooting and had considered calling in sick. It was like her father to push through, however. She said he was the family’s sole provider and took pride in that. Ramos-Beavers said she saw him as he left for work that day and had no idea about his concerns until later because he was “all smiles,” like usual.
Family members told MARTA’s board they want to see the union’s safety recommendations implemented to prevent other families from experiencing what they have. The union presented the board with a list of demands Thursday, including a request for hazard pay at a rate of $2 per hour or 15% of regular pay.
“We are at war,” Dunams said. “If we’re going to go into a danger zone, I am definitely asking for hazard pay.”
The union is also asking MARTA to go to a fare-free system to eliminate the conflicts that arise over fares, and they’re asking for buses that fully separate drivers from riders. Currently, drivers are separated by only a plexiglass shield.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
The union is also asking for stiffer penalties for riders who violate the transit agency’s rules. Right now, passengers act with impunity, driver Harrison Crawford told the board.
“These people feel like, and they already know, there’s no consequences,” Crawford said.
Board Chairwoman Jennifer Ide said the agency would consider all of the union’s recommendations and expressed her condolences to Ramos’ family.
“This must have been incredibly difficult to come today,” Ide said. “We are sorry for your tremendous, tremendous loss.”
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