A man who was attacked on his way to the Chatsworth subway station by a machete-wielding attacker has filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, saying Unsafe conditions blame.
Brent Meldeau, 53, was walking to the station on March 2 when he heard “someone approaching me, and I saw him raise his hand to the sky. Then he hit me in the face with a machete.”
“I was shocked,” he said. “I dropped my phone. As I was on the run, he asked me if I wanted a little more. Meldeau said the blow almost knocked him unconscious. The attack left him with a large cut on his face. Claim for monetary damages.
His attorney, Cyrus Shahriari, said in a statement that “lack of security and adequate lighting at Chatsworth Underground Station not only jeopardizes public safety but also undermines the sense of security and community happiness.”
“The City’s sloppy facility maintenance has increased the likelihood of this type of criminal incident,” he said.
Shahriari also blamed “unsupervised homeless camps located in dark areas”. He and his client claim the attacker was unwitting.
A representative for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Safety issues have made it difficult Los Angeles’ Public Transportation system, prompting authorities to consider additional security. As illicit drug use and crime increase, passenger numbers have struggled to recover from pre-pandemic levels.
Boardings are only two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels at the end of February. Serious crime reports are up 24% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to data presented by Gina Osborn, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s top safety officer, to the department. Metro operator.
Meldeau said of Chatsworth: “I had a false sense of security because that was the town I grew up in, but not the same town.
“Crime is out of control in that area. I don’t want anyone else to go through what happened to me.”
Times staff writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
