AUSTIN (KXAN) — CapMetro held a swearing-in ceremony for its first class of transit police officers Friday morning, where 12 members of the new force received their badges.
“This was a direct response from the feedback we had received from our customers and our frontline staff who had asked for enhanced safety measures on our system,” said Dottie Watkins, CapMetro’s president and CEO.
CapMetro got its Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) certification last year to make this new department possible. The agency’s board approved this move in 2021.
Just last month, Akshay Gupta was sitting on a CapMetro bus when police believe Deepak Kandel, a homeless man undergoing a mental health episode, stabbed Gupta to death, unprovoked.
Gupta’s friends and family described him as a kind, compassionate and driven young man.
This incident, among other attacks, has drawn concerns from the public.
“We’ll do everything we can to make sure everyone on the system is safe. We will have a visible presence, we will continue to work with our partnerships,” said CapMetro Transit Police Chief Eric Robins. “The officers that we want to hire are officers who are people-centric and focused on our mission of supporting and helping people.”
The deployment of these officers will come in phases beginning June 16. The first active units will be placed in the busiest areas for buses. The agency did not disclose where exactly those locations are.
Robins said five of these officers will officially begin their patrols on June 16, and the rest will join them once they complete their training.