MIAMI (WSVN) - Miami-Dade Police has expressed security concerns about the Metromover, saying they will be making changes after several recent attacks against riders aboard the transit system.
Two police departments and a security firm are now patrolling the trains, but one of the victims said that those changes came too late.
Ahead of two potential lawsuits, Miami-Dade County has shifted management of the Metromover and Metro Rail’s $13 million security contract to the police department.
“I believe our recommendation would be not to get into the details of any of the particular incidents that have occurred.”
Those two incidents happened last month. Two separate attacks aboard the Metromover within weeks of each other. They left a man and a woman violently beaten and bruised, and now they’re suing the county and the security company.
“His mission was to kill me, and if the people don’t do something about this, it’s just going to be another person that’s going to do it,” said Andrea Puerta, one of the victims.
She is still recovering after she was attacked by a stranger while riding the Metromover through Brickell in early September.
“He said, ‘Sorry, I have to kill you,’” she said.
That same night, police said that man attacked two other men on the train. He was later arrested.
Fast forward 16 days later, while on his way to work, Eduardo Fernandez was punched to a pulp. His attacker was arrested as well.
“Where was security?” asked an attorney.
Following the second attack, Miami-Dade Transit beefed up their security presence.
“We have live feeds now on the vehicles inside with those cameras and also testing out security artificial intelligence software that can hopefully detect if an incident is occurring,” said Alice Bravo, transportation director.
And now, almost a month later, police are assuring riders they are safe aboard the transit system.
“We deployed two priority response teams to our transit system, who are there permanently now. We are collaborating with the City of Miami, and we’re allowing them to our concurrent jurisdictions so that they can come up to the platform and assist us. Our real-time crime center has access to the cameras on the platform, and in the long-term strategically, I’m looking to create a transit police component,” said Freddy Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The two potential lawsuits against Metromover and the security company have not yet been formally filed in court.
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