RICHMOND – A brazen attack on a female BART passenger is prompting calls for increased safety across the entire transit system, but the agency says efforts are already underway.
According to BART, the attack happened at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. The woman was sitting down on board a train car when a man came up behind her and put his hands inside her shirt. She told him to stop and pulled away, after which he allegedly punched her multiple times in the face and held her against her will.
The woman told KTVU she fought back and even bit the man’s finger until it bled.
“I realized this was about survival at this moment and honestly he’d have to kill me if he was going to rape me,” she said in an interview with the news station. “That’s all I could think about is, if my family finds me dead, at least I tried. And they would know that I tried my hardest.”
The man then got off the train and was later arrested by BART police officers in Richmond, according to BART. The 21-year-old San Francisco resident was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on charges of assault with intent to commit a felony, sexual battery and lewd conduct. He also did not have proof of payment.
“We’ve pulled the surveillance video for evidence and to provide to the district attorney,” BART said in a statement.
According to KTVU, the woman got on the train at the Richmond station and the man got off at the El Cerrito Del Norte station.
The Bay Area Council on Friday condemned the attack and called on BART to redouble its efforts to address concerns about crime and safety. Those concerns have figured prominently in a monthly return-to-transit survey the San Francisco-based business association has been conducting to understand the reason why ridership on BART has been slow to recover since the pandemic, according to the council.
“This attack was horrific and unacceptable,” Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman said in a statement. “BART riders expect and deserve to feel safe. Concerns about crime and safety are a big reason many riders cite for not returning to the system. And terrifying incidents like this only validate and amplify fears that riders have.
“BART must do better and it must do it now,” he continued. “BART must redouble its efforts to elevate safety across its entire system and take a zero-tolerance stance on crime. Strides that BART has taken recently to address concerns about crime are commendable, but vicious attacks like this make it clear that more must be done. There is no higher priority, for riders and the future of the BART system.”
The council said it advocated in June for the BART Board of Directors to more than triple the number of safety ambassadors the transit agency employs. Recruited from the ranks of the BART Police Department’s community service officers, the ambassadors receive additional de-escalation and anti-bias training, wear uniforms, and carry radios to report safety and security concerns or biohazards, according to BART’s website.
The board ultimately decided not to add any ambassadors to the roster of 10 that serve the system.
The council said it has also called on BART in the past to form partnerships with other law enforcement agencies to help increase police presence at stations and on trains.
BART pointed to its Not One More Girl campaign as an example of what it is already doing to prevent such attacks. The campaign aims to end sexual harassment and gender-based violence on transit.
In its statement, the transit agency said it also has a network of more than 4,000 surveillance cameras throughout the system that are monitored by personnel in real time in two different locations. In addition, BART has a “historically high number of uniformed safety staff on platforms and trains,” including the ambassadors, police officers dedicated to riding trains, community service officers and fare inspectors.
The woman who was attacked said she did not see an officer at the Richmond station or on her train, KTVU reported, adding that she was critical of police response and general safety on BART.
“I didn’t think at 11:30 in the morning I would have to be fighting for my life on public transportation that I think is supposed to be safe,” the woman told the news station.
Passengers can call BART police at 510-464-7000 if there is an emergency. Police can also be reached by text at 510-200-0992 or through the BART Watch app. The transit agency said passengers should know their car number, which is displayed on both the exterior and interior, to help officers respond quickly to a call.
