Good to know that all it takes to change a stupid security policy is to wait for someone to be beaten within an inch of their life, THEN change the policy. How about figuring it out AHEAD of time, so the public is protected?

Doesn’t Seattle remember Kristopher Kime (click here, or here), who was murdered in the sight of the Seattle police in 2001? Weren’t we going to learn from that travesty?

The Seattle Times reports (click here):

“The way Metro uses Olympic guards is similar to Sound Transit’s contract with Securitas, whose unarmed guards are paid $16 to $18 an hour to conduct fare enforcement and to patrol transit stations. Sound Transit’s policies, however, anticipate they’ll sometimes intervene:

“When faced with a clear and immediate threat of bodily harm, the Security Officer must always first consider retreating with any other people present to a secure position. When necessary to protect self and others from a clear and immediate threat of bodily harm, a Security Officer must use only the degree of force necessary to repel an attack or threat of an attack.”

Love this statement:

“After several crimes on Portland rail lines — including the beating of a 71-year-old man with a baseball bat at a suburban station — officials doubled the transit police from 28 officers to 58 during 2008-09, and crimes decreased, according to an Oregonian newspaper report.”

Ya think?