1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:05,559 Speaker 1: What's going on. 2 00:00:05,759 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,080 is heard live every day from noon to three on 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,839 WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,160 like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily 6 00:00:17,199 --> 00:00:19,480 show prep with all the links, become a patron, go 7 00:00:19,559 --> 00:00:23,399 to dpekclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,359 Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet, 9 00:00:26,359 --> 00:00:30,039 And again, thank you so much for your support. I 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,799 knew this was going to happen because I can't stop 11 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:34,320 commenting when I watch these things. 12 00:00:34,399 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 1: It drives everybody nuts. 13 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 2: That's why I can't watch any news programming with anybody, 14 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,159 like in the living room with me, because I just 15 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,119 I will pause it and just start. 16 00:00:44,119 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: Yelling at the TV. 17 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 2: I know it's something that like I think only comes 18 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,520 when you turn seventy or something, but I don't know. 19 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,119 I've been doing it for years and I've turned it 20 00:00:54,159 --> 00:00:56,359 into a successful career, so it can't be all bad. 21 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,759 So the City of Charlotte holds a news conference to 22 00:01:00,079 --> 00:01:05,760 show everybody the new bikes and UTVs that will be 23 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,400 patrolling along the light rail stations and the rail trail 24 00:01:11,519 --> 00:01:15,040 and the transit center where the buses go. So they 25 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,560 got new vehicles and this is going to make everybody 26 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,280 feel much much safer. They look very expensive, but when 27 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,920 you're giving eighteen million dollars a year to the private contractor, 28 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,239 I guess they can afford this kind of equipment. They 29 00:01:28,239 --> 00:01:32,560 do look kind of military e So I'm not sure 30 00:01:32,599 --> 00:01:37,040 if that's going to engender some protests, some maybe fiery 31 00:01:37,079 --> 00:01:41,280 but mostly peaceful riots or something like. I was just 32 00:01:41,359 --> 00:01:44,319 out here walking over and then I saw this. Then 33 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,359 I saw this UTV and I had to burn it down, 34 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:48,920 you know, because that was what we were told during 35 00:01:48,959 --> 00:01:51,840 the riot season. So just the mere sight of the 36 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,840 police presence wearing particular gear or driving particular vehicles, it 37 00:01:55,879 --> 00:01:58,879 prompted people to get violent. 38 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:00,599 Speaker 1: So I don't know if that's the case here. 39 00:02:00,959 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 2: So the mayor in the first hour we listened to 40 00:02:03,159 --> 00:02:07,079 the mayor's opening statement, not very good. I have a 41 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,240 ton of messages. The text line is blown up here. 42 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:16,479 It's basically, let's just say it is being universally panned. 43 00:02:17,159 --> 00:02:23,039 Her comments are being panned. Then the mayor of Davidson, 44 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:28,599 Rusty Knox, he spoke assuring everybody transit is safe and 45 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:29,599 I also saw. 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: Who sent it to me? 47 00:02:30,879 --> 00:02:33,759 Speaker 2: Was it a I've lost track of all the messages here. 48 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,319 This is from Cohen who said, Hey, Pete, did you 49 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,840 notice that it took the mayor about two full minutes 50 00:02:40,879 --> 00:02:43,280 before asking the voters to vote for the additional penny 51 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,000 sales tax. Yeah, she did mention that very early on 52 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,439 in her comments. And that's why I think, like that's 53 00:02:49,479 --> 00:02:51,919 the tell. Every time they talk about this, they're trying 54 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,240 to shoehorn the safety issue into the one sent sales tax. 55 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,240 They want people to think, if you vote for the tax, 56 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,280 then things are going to get safer. 57 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 3: Right. 58 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,479 Speaker 2: This from an anonymous seven oh four number. What angered 59 00:03:06,479 --> 00:03:09,000 me the most about the city's response to the violence 60 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,719 on cats was the mayor of Davidson saying the murder 61 00:03:12,759 --> 00:03:15,240 on the light rail probably could not have been prevented. 62 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: Wrong, Mayor. 63 00:03:16,759 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 2: If the judicial system really did their job, the legislature 64 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:24,400 stopped no cash bail, or stopped cash bail, cashless bail, 65 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,240 and the City of Charlotte was really serious about security 66 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,039 on the cat's system, this murder definitely could have been prevented. 67 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 3: Right. 68 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 2: This has been a not so clever rhetorical trick that 69 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,599 they have been using since the murder, which is that 70 00:03:39,039 --> 00:03:42,080 it happened so fast, it came out of nowhere, it 71 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:48,680 was completely unprovoked, that there wasn't any time to intervene. Right, 72 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,759 once the attacker stood up, it had opened the knife 73 00:03:52,759 --> 00:03:57,879 and stood up. It happened in a second. So to 74 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,919 that extent, right, you probably could not have stopped him 75 00:04:02,199 --> 00:04:06,159 from doing it because it happened so fast. However, that 76 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:12,120 ignores all the time prior. It ignores years of him 77 00:04:12,159 --> 00:04:14,719 going in and out of the court system, right. It 78 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,439 ignores his mental health issues that his family tried to 79 00:04:18,439 --> 00:04:21,600 get him help and they never could get it. It 80 00:04:21,639 --> 00:04:25,040 ignores the lack of a security officer or an armed 81 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:29,120 security on that train at the time. It ignores the 82 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:30,759 fact that he was able to get on the train 83 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,480 without paying a fare and there was no fair enforcement. 84 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 1: So it ignores all of that. 85 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 2: So to say it was unpreventable, like I said, it's 86 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,120 a not so clever rhetorical trick. I don't fall for it. 87 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:45,480 You don't fall for it, but they keep saying it 88 00:04:46,319 --> 00:04:49,759 for some reason, I don't know why. City manager then 89 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,399 gets up Marcus Jones and he's talking about, oh, we're 90 00:04:52,439 --> 00:04:56,319 you know, getting more police trained up, and we're retaining them, 91 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,240 We've increased their pay and all of this. But he 92 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,439 has now broadened this press conference out into something other 93 00:05:05,519 --> 00:05:10,600 than simply the cat's security, the transit security. Now he's 94 00:05:10,639 --> 00:05:16,519 talking about pay for cops in general. And you know, 95 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,000 if you open that door, counselor I'm walking through it 96 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,040 as a reporter, I'm sitting there, I'm going to start 97 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,959 asking questions about the safety outside of cats too. 98 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,399 Speaker 4: We'll come in the next week or two, but I 99 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,439 want you to know that we've focused on various areas 100 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,439 in our city. We're stalking with the uptown, but not 101 00:05:34,639 --> 00:05:38,319 limited to the uptown. We have additional resources in our 102 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:43,120 central division. We have targeted patrols, and we have targeted 103 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:48,600 response for intervention and outreach. We're working more to make 104 00:05:48,639 --> 00:05:52,319 sure that we can keep our community safe. Now, Brent 105 00:05:52,439 --> 00:05:55,240 is going to talk about transit and some of the 106 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,360 safety measures there, but I want to assure you that 107 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,160 we're not limiting it just to trans it. How can 108 00:06:01,199 --> 00:06:05,279 we make sure that our entire community feels safe and 109 00:06:05,319 --> 00:06:07,360 we have the resources to make sure that we can 110 00:06:07,399 --> 00:06:07,759 back that. 111 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: Up, lock up the offenders. 112 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 2: That's how you make people feel safer you lock them 113 00:06:13,399 --> 00:06:14,519 up for long period. 114 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,519 Speaker 5: Warning everyone, I'm Brent Kagle, interim CEO of CATZ. Thank 115 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,040 you everyone for coming out today. I'll keep my comments 116 00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:24,639 brief so that we can move over to questions. Good 117 00:06:24,759 --> 00:06:29,839 than you I think today, this is what we're talking 118 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:34,560 about visual presence. We see PPS officers here. You also 119 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,639 see the equipment behind me that they are deploying. It 120 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,920 really is a visual way to show our commitment to 121 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:49,759 safety and security throughout transit. The partnership with PSS is 122 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,519 growing and evolving as we work together to ensure the 123 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,920 safety of our operators, our customers, and as we work 124 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,279 to reduce or eliminate fair EVA throughout the system. All 125 00:07:02,319 --> 00:07:07,959 of these are top priorities and cats with PPS and 126 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:13,800 in partnership with CMPD, we're ready to implement and execute. 127 00:07:13,279 --> 00:07:14,959 Speaker 6: On these plans. 128 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:21,279 Speaker 5: PSS PPS continues to increase staffing, with personnel now at 129 00:07:21,279 --> 00:07:25,920 approximately two hundred staff hired and available. 130 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:27,839 Speaker 1: Who whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. 131 00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:30,199 Speaker 2: I thought you guys said you were you were at 132 00:07:30,199 --> 00:07:34,360 full staff at two nineteen. Now I thought that. I 133 00:07:34,399 --> 00:07:36,759 thought they said they were fully staffed up the other day. 134 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,079 Have they lost position. Maybe they have, I don't know. 135 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 5: Including over forty armed personnel that are part of the 136 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:53,519 PPS contract. All of these personnel are backed up and 137 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:58,120 supported by twenty four fte or nine hundred and sixty 138 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,560 six hours per week of off duty Charlotte Mecklenberg. 139 00:08:02,079 --> 00:08:03,639 Speaker 1: Police Department officers. 140 00:08:07,079 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 5: I think it's also important to note that all of 141 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:17,160 the personnel receive extensive training, including unarmed personnel, before they 142 00:08:17,199 --> 00:08:21,920 go out to serve the community and transit, and all 143 00:08:21,959 --> 00:08:26,399 of the unarmed personnel are fully supported by armed personnel 144 00:08:27,199 --> 00:08:33,519 with PPS and by CMPD. Adding the bike unit and 145 00:08:33,639 --> 00:08:38,919 UTVs really makes PPS and CATS more mobile and capable 146 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,159 to protect our system going forward. 147 00:08:43,759 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: See I've heard other things about the extensive training. 148 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 7: We will open them up to questions if you could 149 00:08:51,159 --> 00:08:53,480 tell us who you are, what outlet you're with, and 150 00:08:53,519 --> 00:08:55,000 we'll try to get through as many of these as 151 00:08:55,039 --> 00:08:57,799 we can before the pile driver turns back. 152 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 8: On and we're directing the questions since. 153 00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:08,879 Speaker 1: Audio is terrible. 154 00:09:08,919 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 2: He's they're in a construction zone. 155 00:09:15,759 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: Why would you do this in a construction zone? 156 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 5: So the auditor dignotion is report one element of the 157 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,720 contract armed security. I think it's important to remember that 158 00:09:28,399 --> 00:09:32,559 one element of the contract doesn't represent the position entirely 159 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:37,360 on how to provide proper security throughout the system. We 160 00:09:37,399 --> 00:09:41,399 know visible presence is important, and so what we have 161 00:09:41,759 --> 00:09:46,200 is a more than one increase in staffing across certified 162 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:52,080 law enforcement, armed security as well as unarmed security, all 163 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,120 serving working together to protect the system. 164 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:56,039 Speaker 1: No, that's not true. 165 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 2: He just rolled all of those categories into one universal figure. 166 00:10:00,279 --> 00:10:02,039 We've heard this is what the city is now doing. 167 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,559 They're saying, oh, we've had a one hundred percent increase 168 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:10,960 in the private contractor personnel count, right, but the number 169 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:15,600 of armed guards went down. The number of unarmed guards 170 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,679 went way up. So while there are now yes, two 171 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:23,320 hundred personnel, the number of armed went from sixty eight 172 00:10:23,399 --> 00:10:26,559 or eighty eight under the old contract now down to forty. 173 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,279 It dropped. You know, stories are powerful. They help us 174 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:34,039 make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us 175 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,000 to the people of our past while transcending generations. They 176 00:10:37,039 --> 00:10:39,919 help us process the meaning of life, and our stories 177 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,679 are told through images and videos. 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I have not heard 194 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,159 this press conference just because of the timing of it 195 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,120 and me coming into the studio, so I have not 196 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:49,799 heard this, and I am I have the same reactions 197 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,480 that you guys have. Your just blowing up the text 198 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:58,519 line and there is a real sentiment here that we 199 00:11:58,639 --> 00:12:01,440 are being told to approve move the one cent sales 200 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:06,000 tax in order to have security on the transit system. 201 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:10,279 That is the feeling that people are getting that you 202 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:15,639 are using the fears and concerns about safety in order 203 00:12:15,759 --> 00:12:21,399 to promote the sales tax increase, and people aren't taken 204 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,919 to kindly to that. Okay, that's just a heads up. 205 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,679 There a piece of unsolicited feedback, as I am known 206 00:12:28,759 --> 00:12:33,120 to provide frequently to the City of Charlotte. Right here 207 00:12:33,159 --> 00:12:38,440 is Brent Kagel talking about the security plan and how 208 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,200 they've been making improvements, and he was asked a question. 209 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,240 I didn't hear the question because it was off Mike, 210 00:12:43,799 --> 00:12:48,600 but he's responding to the state auditors report, the preliminary 211 00:12:48,639 --> 00:12:51,360 report that came out on Monday. We talked to the 212 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:56,639 state auditor about that report that identified the staffing changes 213 00:12:56,639 --> 00:12:59,759 that occurred in the last six years where there's now 214 00:12:59,799 --> 00:13:05,720 a heavier reliance on unarmed personnel versus armed personnel, and 215 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,440 that they had split the contract in half and then 216 00:13:09,519 --> 00:13:15,440 awarded the unarmed personnel contract to PSS and they said 217 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:20,600 that they would not entertain any bids from basically white 218 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,559 male owned businesses, and then the armed personnel contract they 219 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,759 gave to another company, and then within a year they 220 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,799 scrapped that said that they weren't fulfilling the terms of 221 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,559 the contract, and then they folded that into the PSS contract. 222 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:41,000 So in essence, they had a split contract for purposes 223 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,559 of getting a minority owned business to win part of 224 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,759 that contract, and then they turned around and gave the 225 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:48,519 other contract. 226 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: They folded them back together. 227 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 5: We do believe that this is a solid strategy. The 228 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,879 other thing I'll say, and others have talked about this, 229 00:14:00,399 --> 00:14:06,080 as we think about staffing, we also know we need 230 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,840 more staffing, and so we're committed to growing that contract 231 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:14,440 as we move forward. But when we entered into the agreement, 232 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,960 the partnership with PPS, it was about creating that right 233 00:14:18,039 --> 00:14:22,639 mix to create better visible presence and a stronger security 234 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,799 position across the entire system. 235 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,879 Speaker 9: Mary Well, I are up the sign Zier with Channel nine. 236 00:14:28,919 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 7: I have a question for you in. 237 00:14:30,159 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 9: Regards to the Fraternal Order of Police have requested that 238 00:14:34,399 --> 00:14:37,639 the National Guard now come to Charlotte after all of 239 00:14:37,679 --> 00:14:39,279 this and recent file crime. 240 00:14:39,919 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 6: Do you believe the National Guard should come to Charlotte? 241 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 2: All right, So the question from Channel nine was do 242 00:14:45,279 --> 00:14:48,480 you believe the National Guard should be called into Charlotte 243 00:14:49,039 --> 00:14:53,679 because the Fraternal Order of Police is asking the federal, 244 00:14:53,679 --> 00:14:57,000 state and city leaders to authorize the National Guard to 245 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,320 respond to violent crime in Charlotte. I have the letter 246 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,919 from the FOP, so here's the mayor's response to that. 247 00:15:06,279 --> 00:15:09,679 Speaker 10: I believe in Charlotte first and foremost Hunter not really 248 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,679 that we have the ability in this community. The number 249 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,720 of people that are engaged now to make this a 250 00:15:16,799 --> 00:15:21,519 safer city is from every part of our community. It's 251 00:15:21,519 --> 00:15:26,320 from the business community, it's from our educational works and 252 00:15:26,399 --> 00:15:29,639 all of that. So what I believe is that given 253 00:15:29,679 --> 00:15:32,120 the time that we have to work with the White 254 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,519 House and the federal other federal offices, that we will 255 00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:38,360 not need the Guard to come to Charlotte. 256 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 6: Miss Artagel's David Hodges WSTV to the point of the. 257 00:15:43,399 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 9: Auditor was making about the amount of armed security professionals 258 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,799 and training. We see an armed security officer on every 259 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,559 single pass light rail PAB moving forward. 260 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:55,879 Speaker 2: After this, all right, So that's David Hodges at WBTV 261 00:15:56,039 --> 00:15:59,960 asking could we see an armed security guard on every 262 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,960 one of the forty eight cars on the light rail system. 263 00:16:04,159 --> 00:16:04,399 Speaker 6: Yeah. 264 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 5: As I've said before, we don't believe that that is feasible. 265 00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:12,960 We also don't believe it creates a force that can 266 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,200 stay mobile to respond throughout the system. If there are 267 00:16:17,279 --> 00:16:21,799 significant numbers of security on every vehicle, if those trains 268 00:16:21,919 --> 00:16:25,240 need to be stopped for some reason, that means those 269 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:30,000 security are stationary with that train. And so again, it's 270 00:16:30,039 --> 00:16:35,000 not about are there personnel on every vehicle every day, 271 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:40,240 all day long. It's are there personnel visibly present throughout 272 00:16:40,279 --> 00:16:43,639 the entire system always throughout the day. 273 00:16:45,039 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 9: All that intersects with the bus system because this remind 274 00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:50,320 everyone to Carlos Brown Junior jobs in the light rail 275 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,679 by riding the bus, he entered the stop floats us 276 00:16:53,679 --> 00:16:57,440 to group above. There are assaults our viewers have seen 277 00:16:57,519 --> 00:17:02,000 on buses frequently. How all this taskfort to address safety 278 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,079 issues on buses where some of. 279 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,400 Speaker 2: These people are often entering the Oh so that's interesting, 280 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:12,400 Carlos Brown, Carlos, Carlos Brown, whatever's name was. 281 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:12,880 Speaker 3: I don't care. 282 00:17:13,759 --> 00:17:17,839 Speaker 2: The attacker rode the bus. I guess he did. I 283 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:19,960 guess he didn't pay there either. I don't know, but 284 00:17:20,039 --> 00:17:24,920 he rode the bus. And the follow up here indicates 285 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:29,519 that it was from a roof above shelter right or 286 00:17:29,559 --> 00:17:34,240 homeless services, and that there are fights out there, right, 287 00:17:34,279 --> 00:17:42,079 there's criminal activity going on, assaults or whatever. So okay, 288 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,240 I just have this idea. Come, I just have the idea. 289 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:47,119 It just came to me. Like I said, I have 290 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,079 not heard this full press conference, so I'm just spitballing 291 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,920 here people, And there are no bad ideas under the 292 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,720 cone of creativity, as I always say. So I'm just 293 00:17:56,759 --> 00:18:03,039 going to throw this out there. How about a bus 294 00:18:03,079 --> 00:18:10,079 service or van service for the homeless and only the homeless, 295 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:19,680 Like we have separate lines, separate vehicles. One that is 296 00:18:20,039 --> 00:18:23,240 fair free, So it's a free ride for the homeless 297 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,359 people to move all around wherever, you know, from one 298 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:31,920 shelter to the next whatever, and that's separate from the 299 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,200 cat system. Yeah, no, no, I think that that might 300 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:41,640 not be a great idea. Uh. I'm just I'm just 301 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,839 trying to come up with a solution, because you know me, 302 00:18:44,039 --> 00:18:45,599 I am all about solutions. 303 00:18:46,799 --> 00:18:48,279 Speaker 1: I don't know what Kagle has to say here. 304 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 3: Yeah. 305 00:18:48,759 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 5: So, buses are the backbone of every transit system, and 306 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,920 just like light rail, buses need to be safe. Passengers 307 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,680 need to feel safe when they're riding buses, and so 308 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,119 these measures aren't just about the Blue line or the 309 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,599 rail it's about buses as well, and again I'll reiterate 310 00:19:09,319 --> 00:19:10,640 everyone needs. 311 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:11,839 Speaker 6: To have a ticket. 312 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:19,200 Speaker 5: Fair evasion. We will be focusing on reducing or eliminating 313 00:19:19,279 --> 00:19:22,759 fair evasion as we move forward, and that is across 314 00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:27,839 the entire system, whether it's buses, rail, all of our modes. 315 00:19:28,319 --> 00:19:29,559 Speaker 1: Martha, Okay, wait a minute. 316 00:19:29,599 --> 00:19:33,599 Speaker 2: So nobody's talking about putting a guard on every bus, right, 317 00:19:33,599 --> 00:19:37,000 because there's almost four hundred of them. I think, So, 318 00:19:37,079 --> 00:19:41,799 how exactly do you get security on the bus? Because 319 00:19:41,839 --> 00:19:44,519 what if a homeless person has a bus ticket? Because 320 00:19:44,559 --> 00:19:47,559 there are organizations that give bus tickets out. 321 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:53,039 Speaker 1: So then what so many questions. 322 00:19:53,519 --> 00:19:56,680 Speaker 2: So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, 323 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:58,880 and before he died, my mom and my dad took 324 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,160 care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, 325 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,319 there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers 326 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,920 and family. But things are different today because of the 327 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,119 work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of 328 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,759 Western Carolina. It's a great organization with awesome people with 329 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,720 huge hearts. I've been a supporter for twenty five years. 330 00:20:16,759 --> 00:20:20,039 This cause means a lot to me. I participate in 331 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,920 the annual walk to end Alzheimer's and I'm leading a 332 00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:26,119 Charlotte team again this year, and it's called once again 333 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,599 Pete's Pack. You can sign up and you can join 334 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,480 the team and walk with us. It's on October eighteenth, 335 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,559 that truest field. Sign up at alz dot org slash 336 00:20:35,599 --> 00:20:38,000 Walk and then you can search for my team name 337 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,519 Pete's Pack. There's also a link at thepetepod dot com. 338 00:20:41,559 --> 00:20:44,279 There's also a link in the description of this podcast. Also, 339 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,960 I'll be am seeing the Gastonia Walk on October eleventh, 340 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,839 and so you can make a team and join that 341 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,160 one too, or make a donation and help me hit 342 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,440 my goal of five thousand dollars. If you do, I 343 00:20:54,559 --> 00:20:56,920 really appreciate it. There are a bunch of other walks 344 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,640 all over the Carolinas. You can go to alz dot 345 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,720 org slash walk for all the dates and locations. We're 346 00:21:02,759 --> 00:21:05,599 closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us 347 00:21:05,599 --> 00:21:07,960 get there? Will you walk with me? For a different future, 348 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:11,799 for families, for more time for treatments. This is why 349 00:21:11,839 --> 00:21:15,720 we walk. I did get a text here listening to 350 00:21:15,759 --> 00:21:18,680 the government redirection of current events and facts. If the 351 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,880 public transportation system is so safe, then why do they 352 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,200 want tax money. I'm convinced more by the results we 353 00:21:25,319 --> 00:21:27,400 have now than the promises they make. 354 00:21:28,039 --> 00:21:28,279 Speaker 3: See. 355 00:21:28,319 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, so here, let me see if I can summarize this. 356 00:21:31,839 --> 00:21:35,680 The safety plan, the security plan that they're rolling out 357 00:21:35,839 --> 00:21:38,759 will improve security, which is good but could be better. 358 00:21:39,559 --> 00:21:41,680 But if you vote for the ones in sales tax, 359 00:21:41,799 --> 00:21:45,599 it'll improve security. But we're still good, but it could 360 00:21:45,599 --> 00:21:48,400 be better. But the new plan is totally going to 361 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,200 make it better. Are we clear now? 362 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 3: Okay? 363 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 2: Good breaking. Brett Jensen from the WBT News Center is 364 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,839 now joining us. Brett was at this dog and Pony 365 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,000 show or I guess UTV and bike show. 366 00:22:03,039 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: I guess it would be. So were you in a 367 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:07,440 construction zone? Did? 368 00:22:07,519 --> 00:22:08,200 Speaker 2: They did? 369 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:08,519 Speaker 10: Like? 370 00:22:08,559 --> 00:22:10,599 Speaker 1: Where were you? You're on a rooftop or something. 371 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 11: So we held it on the top floor of the 372 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,079 Sugar Creek parking deck at the light rail station there 373 00:22:18,079 --> 00:22:21,279 at Sugar Creek Road, and in the background they're building 374 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,039 all these brand new apartments and all these brand new apartments, 375 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,720 and so they actually had it set up that they 376 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:32,359 would stop all the construction noise at eleven o'clock so 377 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:34,359 they could hold the press conference, and then one hundred 378 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,119 and fifty yards behind them at eleven thirty or so 379 00:22:37,319 --> 00:22:40,319 or eleven forty five, I guess around eleven forty five, 380 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:42,640 the construction and all the noise would amp back up. 381 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 6: So we were on the top roof, yeah, of a 382 00:22:44,759 --> 00:22:45,759 parking deck, right. 383 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:46,400 Speaker 1: I could tell that. 384 00:22:46,519 --> 00:22:48,599 Speaker 2: I almost thought you were out back at our building here, 385 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:53,599 because we've got a similar kind of view. But so 386 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,400 that was a very helpful way for them to limit 387 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,680 the Q and A and to keep this thing to 388 00:22:58,839 --> 00:22:59,680 just a half an hour. 389 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 11: Yeah, well, Date, Well, I mean, Pete, I mean the 390 00:23:03,279 --> 00:23:07,000 Q and A was fifteen minutes. They spoke for fifteen minutes, 391 00:23:07,279 --> 00:23:09,079 and then the Q and A was only fifteen minutes, 392 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:11,839 and we had many more questions that we wanted to ask, 393 00:23:12,079 --> 00:23:13,400 and they immediately cut it off. 394 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:13,880 Speaker 3: Yeah. 395 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 2: No, And then I mentioned this at the beginning of 396 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,000 the show, which was I caught the very end of 397 00:23:18,039 --> 00:23:20,640 the press conference where they were shutting you down from 398 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,079 the Q and A. And then the mayor gets up 399 00:23:23,079 --> 00:23:25,359 there to close it out and says, that's why we're 400 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:25,839 out here. 401 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:27,160 Speaker 1: You know, safety is important. 402 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,599 Speaker 2: We hear you, and that's why we're here to answer 403 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,440 all of your questions and I'm screaming at the live feed, 404 00:23:33,599 --> 00:23:36,200 but you didn't answer all of their questions. They're still 405 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,880 asking you questions as you're trying to wrap the thing up. 406 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: Just I don't know. 407 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 2: I don't know if that was intentional or if they 408 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,519 were just working with it because they wanted to have 409 00:23:45,599 --> 00:23:49,119 the vehicles out there, obviously they wanted Did anybody stick 410 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:50,480 around for the b roll shots? 411 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: Did people actually do that? Well? 412 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,599 Speaker 11: Afterwards, like you know, there were a couple of city 413 00:23:54,599 --> 00:23:57,119 council members there, Edwin Peacock and Malcolm Graham, so they 414 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:01,559 were doing interviews with everyone and. 415 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,920 Speaker 6: And then afterwards they got. 416 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 11: In their little vehicles that almost look like a beach 417 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:06,000 doom buggy. 418 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,319 Speaker 3: Yeah. I don't know how that helps the light rail. 419 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 11: But okay, they keep saying presents and presence, but okay, 420 00:24:11,839 --> 00:24:12,119 m m. 421 00:24:13,279 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 3: But they you know, they had. 422 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 11: Their bikes and they had their little doom buggies and 423 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:19,079 they showed them and a couple of people got b 424 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,319 rolled and then they put on the sirens to make 425 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:24,920 it sound all official, and that lasted, I'm not even joking, 426 00:24:25,559 --> 00:24:26,319 twenty seconds. 427 00:24:26,559 --> 00:24:29,079 Speaker 3: Yeah, and everyone got their b roll and then. 428 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,079 Speaker 11: But again, I don't know what the purpose of all 429 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:32,799 that was for. But they wanted to show off their 430 00:24:32,839 --> 00:24:35,480 brand new toys that they got for eighteen million dollars. 431 00:24:35,599 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 2: Right, Well, they're also paying for a whole bunch of 432 00:24:37,559 --> 00:24:41,799 unarmed security. So it's not it's not because did anybody 433 00:24:41,799 --> 00:24:44,000 ask or did they divulge, like what the cost of 434 00:24:44,039 --> 00:24:45,759 each of these vehicles were. 435 00:24:46,519 --> 00:24:48,799 Speaker 11: No, nobody even cared about the vehicles, Like that wasn't 436 00:24:48,839 --> 00:24:49,839 even a center of topic. 437 00:24:50,039 --> 00:24:51,720 Speaker 3: Well I see everything. Yeah, yeah. 438 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 2: When I saw that, I was like, they're calling this 439 00:24:53,519 --> 00:24:56,640 press conference and they're they're labeling it like bike and 440 00:24:56,799 --> 00:24:59,359 UTV rollout or something, and I'm like, the media is 441 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,799 not there to see the bikes and the and the UTVs. 442 00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:06,839 You if if Arena Zarotska was not murdered four weeks ago, 443 00:25:07,319 --> 00:25:11,160 this thing would get maybe a line in a newscast, 444 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,160 a local newscast, like maybe a photog would come out 445 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,079 and spray the scene, just get a couple of shots 446 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,079 and move on, Like this is not a newsworthy And 447 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,680 people were there. You guys were there to ask questions. 448 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,359 So what did you learn that you didn't know before 449 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:24,319 the press conference? 450 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 11: Well, the one thing, and it's encouraging to hear. Let's 451 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:34,799 just say from a citizen standpoint, it was encouraging to 452 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,880 hear that Brent Kagele, the CEO of CATS, finally recognizes 453 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:46,640 the need for fair enforcement because afterwards, after all the 454 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,920 Arena Zaruska stuff and with you know, just not being 455 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,440 able to read the room and understanding the situation, he said, 456 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:54,720 we will never check. 457 00:25:54,519 --> 00:25:55,359 Speaker 3: Every single fare. 458 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 11: You know, him and the the PPS Security group said, 459 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:03,599 we will never check every single fare. And the the 460 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:07,480 overwhelming theme today was we're doing better. We're going to 461 00:26:07,519 --> 00:26:10,480 do better. The one sent sales tax has to pass 462 00:26:10,759 --> 00:26:12,359 right and all by the way, we're going to try 463 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:13,599 and figure out how a way to. 464 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 6: Check all the fairs right. 465 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:17,480 Speaker 11: And that's when I asked my question because you know, 466 00:26:17,559 --> 00:26:20,359 the thoughts of that it just might be you know, 467 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,640 people that they hire, could be women, it could be 468 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:24,839 older men, it could be whomever. And that's why I 469 00:26:24,839 --> 00:26:27,039 asked the questions, like, how are they going to be 470 00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:30,839 able to protect themselves against someone like you know, uh, 471 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,960 you know, de Carlos Brown who insists that he's not 472 00:26:34,039 --> 00:26:35,880 paying and he's going to get on the train. I said, 473 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:37,960 how are they I said, I said, how are they 474 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,160 going to be able to protect themselves. 475 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:41,160 Speaker 3: I said, are you, I said, or. 476 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,799 Speaker 11: Because if you don't, if they can't protect themselves, then 477 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:46,559 we're going to be And I said, we're going to 478 00:26:46,559 --> 00:26:48,759 be right back here next year or in two years 479 00:26:48,799 --> 00:26:54,720 about how a ticket checker was assaulted or killed, right. 480 00:26:54,519 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: Because we'll be right back here. 481 00:26:55,799 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 3: Yeah. 482 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,559 Speaker 2: If you get a if you get a group of 483 00:26:58,559 --> 00:27:01,119 of mis Koreans that get on and refuse to pay, 484 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,960 and then that fair enforcer is going to be calling, 485 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,039 I guess to the dune Buggy Brigade and they'll be 486 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,240 you know, riding up to meet her at the next stop. 487 00:27:08,759 --> 00:27:11,079 But in the meantime, she's still now trapped on a 488 00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:15,519 train with you know, like six seven of these miscreants 489 00:27:15,519 --> 00:27:17,960 that are going to you know, beat her or something 490 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:20,960 if she if she pushes them too hard. 491 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,079 Speaker 6: That's exactly right, And that's exactly right. 492 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:27,559 Speaker 11: And they said, you know, we cannot have people on 493 00:27:27,759 --> 00:27:30,000 all the trains and the cars of the light rail station. 494 00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:32,079 And just so the listeners, I've been saying this a 495 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:35,000 lot of my show, just for the listeners to understand. 496 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,000 With the numbers that we're talking about, there are ten 497 00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:43,440 trains and each train has two cars, so that's a 498 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:47,480 total of twenty cars. So all you need at any 499 00:27:47,519 --> 00:27:50,839 one time is twenty one per car if you want 500 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:52,440 to have because you cannot walk from one car to 501 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,799 the next, so you eat like the New York subway, 502 00:27:55,799 --> 00:27:58,720 you can't go in between cars, and so you would 503 00:27:58,759 --> 00:28:02,359 need twenty And you would think for eighteen million dollars 504 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:04,319 a year they would be able to have twenty people 505 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:05,880 on the light rail, you would think. 506 00:28:06,559 --> 00:28:09,759 Speaker 2: So I'm thinking another idea. I'm just spitballing here, but 507 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:14,160 how about an air marshal model right where you don't 508 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:19,160 know who the security, the armed security is and word 509 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,960 spreads that we've implemented an air marshal kind of a program. 510 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,680 So there's somebody on the train and you don't know 511 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:27,880 who it is, and that person's going to be armed 512 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,880 in an officer, and they will they will take you 513 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,160 down if you cause any problems. 514 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 11: Well, I mean, I don't have I actually kind of 515 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,839 like that, you know, but you know, unfortunately with air marshals, 516 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,440 obviously they're not on every single correct and every single place. 517 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: We're not getting that anyway. 518 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,279 Speaker 2: Well, if we're not going to get it anyway, I'm thinking, well, 519 00:28:45,279 --> 00:28:46,720 why not just put them all under cover. 520 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,599 Speaker 3: You know, I don't mind the undercover. I actually kind 521 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:52,759 of like that. But then they'll say, but the argument is, 522 00:28:53,319 --> 00:28:54,240 we have two. 523 00:28:54,119 --> 00:28:57,480 Speaker 11: Hundred and we're hiring more people because it's all about 524 00:28:57,519 --> 00:29:00,759 having a presence. It's about a presence. If we have 525 00:29:00,799 --> 00:29:07,039 a presence, and it'll be a deterrent. So an unarmed presence, gotcha. 526 00:29:06,799 --> 00:29:10,319 Speaker 2: Okay, right, somebody to call CMPD to meet them at 527 00:29:10,319 --> 00:29:15,200 the next stop, which is fine after the fact, but 528 00:29:15,359 --> 00:29:17,240 it really did, like, and that's really what kind of 529 00:29:17,319 --> 00:29:19,160 chat mee was I heard, you know, Rusty Knox, the 530 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,799 mayor of Davidson, you know, and he's saying this was unpreventable. 531 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,119 And this is I called it, this not so clever 532 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,240 rhetorical device that they keep saying, because, yes, when the 533 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,000 guy stood up and stabbed her, it would be very 534 00:29:31,039 --> 00:29:33,880 difficult for somebody to recognize what's happening and to react 535 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,799 within that one or two second window. Yes, However, there 536 00:29:36,799 --> 00:29:39,200 were all these steps ahead of time that were not 537 00:29:39,319 --> 00:29:41,880 taken that could have prevented that guy from being on 538 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,960 the train in the first place, right right, And if 539 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,759 there was yeah, if there was somebody present, uh, you know, 540 00:29:48,799 --> 00:29:52,079 a security personnel present, maybe Brown would not have stood 541 00:29:52,119 --> 00:29:53,480 up and stabbed her at all. 542 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,119 Speaker 11: Well, no, if there was a security presence, And maybe 543 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,079 he doesn't even get on the train because he didn't 544 00:29:58,079 --> 00:30:01,799 have a ticket, right, and he rode the bus free 545 00:30:01,839 --> 00:30:03,240 to get to the light rail station. 546 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 2: This was another idea I just tossed out. I'm gonna 547 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:07,960 throw it at you. Let's see what you think. How 548 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,119 about a separate bus system for homeless people. 549 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 11: Oh, well, we can't afford that, we would need a 550 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:17,920 two cent sales tax. 551 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,119 Speaker 2: Oh you should run for office. That is the other 552 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,279 thing that I'm seeing on the text line. People are 553 00:30:24,319 --> 00:30:29,680 bristling at the appearance at best, but the intent at 554 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:35,599 worst to use the crime concerns as a way to 555 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,240 get people to approve the one sent sales text. That's 556 00:30:38,279 --> 00:30:41,119 the way people are feeling. They're feeling this pressure campaign 557 00:30:41,839 --> 00:30:43,960 that's being waged. I can't say I disagree. 558 00:30:44,559 --> 00:30:46,359 Speaker 11: Well, I will say this real quick because I know 559 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:47,880 you're up against it, But I will say this real 560 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:49,240 quick about the ones sent sales text. 561 00:30:49,319 --> 00:30:52,759 Speaker 6: Well, people need to understand there wasn't. 562 00:30:52,559 --> 00:30:56,319 Speaker 11: A lot of the first proposals and everything before it 563 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:57,720 was reworked and reworked. 564 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 6: The first proposals did not include anyone for security. 565 00:31:00,839 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 1: Right, yeah, it's like none zero. 566 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:05,599 Speaker 3: Yeah. 567 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,319 Speaker 2: So this was just after the murder of Arena Zarutzka, 568 00:31:08,359 --> 00:31:11,000 and they're scrambling because they're in a panic. I think 569 00:31:11,039 --> 00:31:12,880 there are a lot of people panicking that this is 570 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,480 going to tank their vote and the referendum, and I 571 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,599 think they're trying to now they're doing damage control. 572 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: You know, that's what That's exactly what it is. Yes, 573 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:23,720 all right, Bret Jensen. You've got a show tonight or 574 00:31:23,759 --> 00:31:24,480 are you off tonight? 575 00:31:24,759 --> 00:31:27,599 Speaker 11: I have a show tonight and I have interviews with 576 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:31,200 Malcolm Graham, Edwin Peacock and a lot as well as 577 00:31:31,279 --> 00:31:33,359 the Fraternal Order of Police president that put out the 578 00:31:33,759 --> 00:31:35,000 letter this morning that I broke. 579 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,079 Speaker 3: And so he's coming on air and. 580 00:31:37,079 --> 00:31:39,279 Speaker 11: We'll play highlights or low lights, whatever you want to 581 00:31:39,279 --> 00:31:40,599 call it from today's press conference. 582 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,119 Speaker 2: All right, breaking with Brett Jensen. Thanks, Bred, appreciate you, 583 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,559 Thank you, sir. All right, man, that's Brett Jensen. Here's 584 00:31:46,599 --> 00:31:49,200 a great idea. 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Dot com and make 605 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,680 memories that'll last a lifetime. Alan says, why haven't the 606 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,200 City of Charlotte not mentioned working with the sheriff? 607 00:33:04,559 --> 00:33:04,880 Speaker 6: Stop? 608 00:33:05,079 --> 00:33:09,480 Speaker 1: Stop, no, no, let's not give them any ideas. 609 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:14,960 Speaker 2: Why isn't the city working with the sheriff and partnering 610 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,680 with the sheriff to provide additional law enforcement officers for 611 00:33:17,759 --> 00:33:18,799 the trains and buses. 612 00:33:20,839 --> 00:33:23,559 Speaker 1: I think we know why. No, I don't know. 613 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:28,599 Speaker 2: A city manager needs to understand the main way to 614 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,079 attract and retain people is to go make them feel 615 00:33:31,079 --> 00:33:35,559 appreciated and valued. Pretty sure he's trying to discuss what 616 00:33:35,559 --> 00:33:37,559 they have done to try and attract officers, which is 617 00:33:37,599 --> 00:33:41,599 obviously not working. That says so, says Tom on the 618 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:45,240 text line. The second most liberal mayor in Mecklimburg County 619 00:33:45,319 --> 00:33:48,400 is Rusty Knox. He and Anti VII are two ps 620 00:33:48,559 --> 00:33:56,359 in a pod. That's from Bubba, anonymous seven oh four number. 621 00:33:56,359 --> 00:33:58,400 The mayor can talk all she wants. Nothing is going 622 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:00,759 to change until we all wake up and vote. We 623 00:34:00,799 --> 00:34:03,359 need a new city council and sheriff. For too long, 624 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:05,680 Charlotte has allowed a small number of voters to decide 625 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,119 our future. We have arrived at that future, and it 626 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:13,239 is not good Mead says, if the mayor of Charlotte, 627 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,480 or sorry, if the mayor of Davidson calling all the 628 00:34:15,519 --> 00:34:19,960 people that felt unsafe riding trand sorry, let me start 629 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:23,360 this again. Is the mayor of Davidson calling all the 630 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,960 people that felt unsafe riding transit liars? Just because he 631 00:34:27,039 --> 00:34:34,440 says it's safe doesn't mean it is seven oh four number. 632 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,800 Doesn't Mayor of Viles have armed security wherever she goes? 633 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,000 Where's my security? Charlotte needs to hire two people, Harry 634 00:34:41,039 --> 00:34:49,280 Callahan and Paul Cercy. If they are short three hundred police. 635 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:51,800 Who's going to ride the bikes? Says Doug. 636 00:34:52,559 --> 00:34:54,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a fair question. 637 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,679 Speaker 2: Hey Pete, what's the over under number of days before 638 00:34:58,679 --> 00:35:01,159 one of these new fancy bikes or UTVs are stolen? 639 00:35:03,159 --> 00:35:04,000 Speaker 3: Yeah? 640 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:10,360 Speaker 1: Uh, it says here. 641 00:35:11,079 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 2: How does Okay see when you text me lots of 642 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,599 texts and short little bursts, It's hard for me to 643 00:35:17,639 --> 00:35:25,000 see where the bursts start. How does yer Mayor Lyles 644 00:35:25,079 --> 00:35:28,119 keep getting elected? Please don't feed the homeless. He is 645 00:35:28,199 --> 00:35:30,039 just running out the clock. They are letting us know 646 00:35:30,119 --> 00:35:34,840 how competent they are in every way except law enforcement. 647 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:37,559 My nephew was a cop for three years in Charlotte. 648 00:35:37,599 --> 00:35:39,519 He left the force because it was impossible to do 649 00:35:39,599 --> 00:35:41,840 the job unless one of the people sitting next to 650 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:43,760 him saw him open the knife and they jumped up 651 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,320 to stop and see this. So you're kind of all 652 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:50,880 over the place there, Pete. It also ignores the enforcement 653 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,840 would be a deterrent. Yes, so, and that's the thing too, 654 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,960 is right, you know, lock up the repeat offenders. 655 00:35:58,039 --> 00:35:58,159 Speaker 3: Right. 656 00:35:58,199 --> 00:36:00,760 Speaker 2: So when when the mayor of Davidson's is that this 657 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:08,280 was unpreventable, it was not if we had a local 658 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,480 court system that was not doing cashless bail for misdemeanor 659 00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:16,119 classes two and three, and we were just letting people 660 00:36:16,159 --> 00:36:19,079 out with a promise to appear for some charges that 661 00:36:19,159 --> 00:36:22,960 are sometimes pretty serious charges. I mentioned this the other 662 00:36:23,039 --> 00:36:24,639 day because I went and I looked up the bail 663 00:36:24,679 --> 00:36:27,800 schedule and in Mecklimber County, and that is set by 664 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:32,760 the local judges Democrats, right, the Democrat controlled court system 665 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,840 in Mecklinber County. They set their bail guidelines. And our 666 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:42,880 bail guidelines are pretty weak. Like you can walk if 667 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:47,320 you're if you get charged with stalking, you can just 668 00:36:47,559 --> 00:36:50,760 sign a written notice to appear or promise to appear. 669 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:55,960 You can walk on a cashless bail for stalking and assault. 670 00:36:56,719 --> 00:36:58,079 You can walk for an assault. 671 00:36:59,599 --> 00:36:59,960 Speaker 1: I don't know. 672 00:37:00,159 --> 00:37:02,079 Speaker 2: I mean, call me crazy, but I think that when 673 00:37:02,119 --> 00:37:06,800 you beat up on somebody, I'm thinking, maybe no, you don't. 674 00:37:07,039 --> 00:37:09,840 You should at least spend a day, maybe two in jail. 675 00:37:10,119 --> 00:37:12,239 You should have to post a bond. Something like that 676 00:37:12,559 --> 00:37:16,480 seems pretty serious if you're going to injure somebody. Right, 677 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,679 it's not like the broken windows policy. We'll just call 678 00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:21,760 it the broken faces policy. How about that? 679 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:22,079 Speaker 3: Right? 680 00:37:25,519 --> 00:37:28,039 Speaker 1: Not once have I heard them talk about the judicial system. 681 00:37:28,119 --> 00:37:30,760 Speaker 2: Ridiculous. How do these people keep their job? Total failure 682 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:34,519 of our city. Another Texter, Yeah, there was not a 683 00:37:34,559 --> 00:37:39,320 single mention of the court system. And I could guess why. 684 00:37:39,599 --> 00:37:44,039 I understand, like the the cover story would be right 685 00:37:44,079 --> 00:37:46,159 officially for the record, it would be that, like, we're 686 00:37:46,199 --> 00:37:48,760 the city. We can focus on this stuff because this 687 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:51,519 is our jurisdiction, this is under our purview. 688 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:53,840 Speaker 1: We're doing these things and all. 689 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:58,440 Speaker 2: But it doesn't work if you are then scooping people 690 00:37:58,599 --> 00:38:02,039 up for violating the laws, putting them into a courthouse 691 00:38:02,519 --> 00:38:06,719 controlled by your fellow Democrats, who are then allowing all 692 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:10,440 of the people that just got scooped up to be released. Like, 693 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:13,679 that's the breakdown in the system. I've been saying this 694 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:17,480 for years. This is the breakdown in the system. The 695 00:38:17,559 --> 00:38:20,119 cops are doing their jobs. You can have all the 696 00:38:20,159 --> 00:38:25,400 pss pps, whatever private contractor you want, phoning in and 697 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,519 calling people, calling cops in to arrest people. But if 698 00:38:28,519 --> 00:38:31,840 there is nothing on the other end of that stick, 699 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:33,400 it's not really a stick. 700 00:38:34,599 --> 00:38:35,039 Speaker 3: It's not. 701 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:38,800 Speaker 2: Let me get ray on before the news. Hello, Ray, 702 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:46,719 Welcome to the show. Ray already right, good talk back 703 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:50,800 to the text line. The guy speaking has given me 704 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:52,920 no confidence in the city of Charlotte. I believe that 705 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:56,119 would have been Brent Cagel, the interim CEO of Cats. 706 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,079 Why not bring back the old fashioned police baton. A 707 00:39:01,199 --> 00:39:05,000 nice whack to the kneecap would work. It's going to 708 00:39:05,079 --> 00:39:08,880 go old school New York Irish cop on him. It 709 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:11,280 couldn't have been stopped, and it could not have been 710 00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:13,159 stopped unless he never got on the train because he 711 00:39:13,199 --> 00:39:16,440 didn't pay for a ticket, have to pass through armed 712 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,519 security on the platform or the entry to the platform, 713 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:21,920 or lest we forget, if he was in jail serving 714 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:24,440 time for all the previous crimes. Well, and it's not 715 00:39:24,639 --> 00:39:29,760 like the attacker in the Zarutzka murder to Carlos Brown Junior. 716 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,519 That guy, he did go to prison, he served his time, 717 00:39:33,559 --> 00:39:36,920 he was released. But then remember he also got picked 718 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:38,679 up again for the misuse of the nine to one 719 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:43,840 to one system where he was obviously insane, and when 720 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:46,679 he called nine one one again in the presence of 721 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,880 the cops who had arrived for the first call for service, 722 00:39:50,599 --> 00:39:52,800 then they were like, that's a misuse of the system. 723 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:56,800 So the cops then take him to the courthouse, where 724 00:39:57,119 --> 00:40:00,639 the nature of the case, the details of the arrest 725 00:40:01,159 --> 00:40:05,840 should have set off every single red flag for the magistrate, 726 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:10,039 for the court personnel, anybody looking at that should have said, 727 00:40:10,559 --> 00:40:15,039 this guy is exhibiting signs of mental illness. What's his 728 00:40:15,199 --> 00:40:18,239 rap sheet? Look at his rap sheet? Holy cow, he's 729 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,639 got assaults. We're gonna order a mental evail right now. 730 00:40:22,119 --> 00:40:25,400 We're gonna hold him for an evail that did not happen. 731 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,239 All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you 732 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:31,280 so much for listening. I could not do the show 733 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,840 without your support and the support of the businesses that 734 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,000 advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support 735 00:40:37,039 --> 00:40:38,679 them too and tell them you heard it here. You 736 00:40:38,719 --> 00:40:41,360 can also become a patron at my Patreon page or 737 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:45,079 go to thepetecallnershow dot com. Again, thank you so much 738 00:40:45,079 --> 00:40:51,960 for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.