WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is calling on Metro to brief lawmakers throughout the region about the policies and procedures in place to respond in emergencies like Monday.
Montgomery County Councilman Roger Berliner raised the proposal on Wednesday.
“The concern that I have as a Montgomery County council member are no different than the concerns in Fairfax County, Arlington or the District of Columbia,” says Berliner.
“I fully understand as a lawyer that what WMATA can’t speak to are the facts with respect to the particular incident at issue. But what they can and should tell us is what their protocols are, what was supposed to happen. We will leave it to investigators whether that actually happened,” he adds.
Fellow COG board members agreed it was a good idea, although Arlington board member Walter Tejada wanted to emphasize that members should keep an open mind rather than use the session to blame Metro for what happened.
“This should be an in-depth, heart-to-heart discussion about what should happen and what, if anything, we need to work on to be better,” says Tejada.
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson also supports the measure and hopes Metro will provide answers.
“We have a right to understand what happened. Recognize that there is an investigation and we shouldn’t impede that investigation. But we still have a right to know and it’s understandable that people want answers as soon as possible,” says Mendelson.
But Metro board members have been told to keep quiet into the specifics on Monday’s incident. D.C. Councilman Jack Evans was given instruction to stop talking to the media and Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille says he was given similar instructions.
“We have been told that. It’s an investigation and we, the members of the Metro board, don’t have all the facts. Anything we say certainly could be used against us,” says Euille.
However, Euille says he still supports the proposal from Berliner and will urge the Metro board to consider the COG request for a meeting while not commenting specifically on Monday’s incident.
“I think it’s appropriate to certainly have a discussion or conversation in terms of what the protocols are, what’s in place, and what we’re doing to correct moving forward,” says Euille.
Metro responded with a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are aware of Councilmember Berliner’s request and will work to be responsive. Metro is currently devoting its full resources to cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board investigation that is now underway,” writes spokesman Dan Stessel.
