Violence against transit operators ‘not a new issue,’ as CATS data show uptick in cases
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Shooting of a Charlotte bus driver
Ethan Rivera, a 41-year-old bus driver for Charlotte Area Transit System, died Feb. 12, 2022, a day after being shot aboard his CATS bus. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say a road rage incident led to the shooting.
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The fatal shooting of bus driver Ethan Rivera is one of the latest examples of increasing violence against CATS operators.
Since 2018, 40 incidents of violence against CATS operators have been reported, according to data from the Charlotte Area Transit System. The number of cases reached a four-year high of 14 last year. There were 11 in 2020, seven in 2019 and eight in 2018.
On Monday, a CATS driver was assaulted by someone who spit in their face near Nations Ford and Tyvola roads, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police spokesman Lt. Stephen Fischbach said during a news conference Tuesday. The driver is fine.
“It’s important to realize that our bus drivers are public servants who literally drive this city,” Fischbach said. “Many of our neighbors depend on CATS bus drivers to get them to work, school and then back home again to their families.”
CATS uses “high-definition” technology that provides a look at what’s happening “in and around our vehicles,” CEO John Lewis said during a police news conference Monday.
Barriers have been installed to give bus operators “a sense of security,” Lewis said, but they are not bulletproof. CATS staff also are provided with training in deescalation tactics, he said.
“Unfortunately, violence in regards to our bus operators is not a new issue,” Lewis said. “It’s not a new issue for CATS, and it’s not a new issue for public transit.”
CATS also uses a private firm, G4S, for armed and unarmed security, as well as off-duty CMPD officers, Lewis said.
The Southern Workers Assembly, a network of unions and other worker groups, plans to hold a “day of action” at 9:45 a.m. Friday at the scene of the shooting. The organization is calling for bullet-resistant partitions, security on evening transit routes and a meeting with Lewis, among other demands.
“The operators are browbeaten, overwhelmed and all while they are mourning the loss of their fellow comrade,” according to an SWA news release Wednesday.
CMPD: ‘Take a stand’
Rivera, 41, died a day after being shot around 9:30 p.m. Friday near Trade and Graham streets, the result of road rage, CMPD said. He is the first CATS operator killed on duty, according to the agency.
He moved to North Carolina from New York two years ago for a better life with his son and daughter, family members have said. His mother, Sylvia Rivera, pleaded with the public Tuesday for their help in identifying the suspect in her son’s fatal shooting.
“This is a point that all of us should take a stand and say ‘you’re not going to treat those who serve our city in this manner,’” Fischbach said.
The Rivera family is accepting donations through a GoFundMe page.
Mothers of Murdered Offspring, a nonprofit focused on supporting mothers who have lost children, will have a candlelight service for Ethan Rivera at Camp Greene Park, 1221 Alleghany St., at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Police ask that anyone who may have seen the shooting or have other related information to call 704-432-8411 (TIPS). Information also can be left anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect in this shooting.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 9:30 AM.
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