A person who was attacked on his option to the Chatsworth Metro Station by a machete-wielding assailant has filed a declare towards town of Los Angeles, saying that unsafe circumstances are accountable.
Brent Meldeau, 53, was strolling to the station March 2 when, he stated, he heard “somebody approaching me, and I see this man together with his hand within the air. Then he hit me throughout the face with a machete.”
“I used to be in shock,” he stated. “I dropped my cellphone. As I used to be operating away, he requested me if I wished some extra.” Meldeau stated the blow practically knocked him unconscious. The assault left him with a big reduce throughout his face. The declare asks for financial damages.
His legal professional, Cyrus Shahriari, stated in a press release that “lack of safety and ample lighting on the Chatsworth Metro Station not solely places public security in danger but in addition undermines the neighborhood’s sense of safety and well-being.”
“The Metropolis’s negligent upkeep of the premises elevated the chance that any such legal incident may happen,” he stated.
Shahriari additionally blamed “unmonitored homeless encampments positioned in darkened areas.” He and his consumer declare the attacker was unhoused.
Representatives for the Los Angeles Metropolis Legal professional’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Questions of safety have plagued Los Angeles’ public transit methods, inflicting authorities to contemplate further safety. As illicit drug use and crime have gone up, ridership has struggled to get well from pre-pandemic ranges.
Practice boardings had been below two-thirds of pre-pandemic ranges as of late February. Stories of significant crimes had been up 24% in 2022 versus 2021, in accordance with knowledge introduced by Gina Osborn, the highest security officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to the Metro govt board.
“I’ve a false sense of safety as a result of it’s the city I grew up in, however it’s not the identical city,” Meldeau stated of Chatsworth.
“The crime is out of hand down in that space. I don’t need anybody else to should undergo what occurred to me.”
Occasions employees author Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
