Metro board ponders facial recognition, other security measures after subway killing

Transit officials are looking at facial recognition technology and fare gates as they scramble to find a way to secure the Metro system after a grandmother was fatally stabbed on the subway this week. The suspect arrested in the killing of 67-year-old Mirna Soza had once been banned from the system by a court order. Distressed by her death and a rash of attacks, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's board on Thursday asked its staff to look into a litany of measures to beef up security on the sprawling system, including creating a protocol for communication among law enforcement agencies, examining the feasibility of facial recognition devices, and securing station gates. "Our agency has grappled with a very real and unacceptable level of violence, illicit drug use sales and overdoses, and a blatant disregard for the law, our code of conduct and, quite frankly, basic human decency," said board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who initiated the effort. "Until we completely reverse security reality on our system, I'm concerned that we will never come back."