Man showers, tries to impersonate an employee at King County Metro bus base

King County Metro is making security changes at its Central/Atlantic bases in SODO after an intruder walked on base, took a shower, put on a stolen uniform, and tried to report for work.

Mechanic Stan Straker was on base during the incident on Oct 6.

“He put someone’s coveralls on and removed their name tag,” mechanic Stan Straker said, “and then he was wearing a vest, you can’t see the name tag.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone actually try to impersonate an employee,” ATU Local 587 Vice-President Cory Rigtrup said. “That’s a first.”

Straker said the man insisted to other employees that he worked there.

“I asked him what his job title was and he said he was an inside wash,” he said. Inside wash is insider lingo for someone who cleans the interior of buses. Then Straker asked for the man’s employee ID.

“Those answers just weren’t really adding up? They didn’t sound quite right?” reporter Linzi Sheldon asked.

“Correct,” Straker said. “Usually, when you start with Metro they assign you an ID number and you would know it,” he said.

Employees notified the proper supervisor and authorities. A deputy responded and escorted the man off the property. According to the Metro Transit Police deputy’s report, the intruder was a 53-year-old with no fixed address. He told the deputy that he had applied for a job at Metro and submitted his resume, that he needed the work, and “thought he could just show up.” The deputy suggested he could have a mental health issue.​​​​​​

Rigtrup said homeless people have wandered on the base multiples times to use the facilities or take people’s food or other belongings.

“Number one, people are worried about their safety,” he said. “They have unauthorized people at work—they don’t know who they are.”

He’s also concerned about the millions of dollars in buses and equipment on base. He said one of the biggest problems is specific gates that are open most of the time.

“They have gates that don’t close,” he said. “If they do close they never get closed. Traffic goes in and out of this base all the time, day and night.”

KIRO 7 took those concerns straight to Metro.

“Did you think this could have been a lot worse than it was?” reporter Linzi Sheldon asked.

“Oh trust me, yes,” Grantley Martelly, a Metro managing director who oversees safety and security, said. “When I find out about things like these, I always— that’s part of my job. My job is to think about how we prevent these things from happening.”

Martelly said changes are already happening.

“We’re in the process of installing additional access controls, key card access controls on some of the doors in the vehicle maintenance building,” he said. He said they’ve also increased security patrols.

Early next year, they’ll add more cameras and automated gates at certain locations. Other gates will be closed or require card or keys to access. They’ll also install an emergency call box in Central/Atlantic yards.

“This kind of really woke up Metro,” Straker said, “in that we need to be more secure in our bases downtown in Seattle.”

Martelly said employees did everything right in identifying a possible intruder, asking him questions, and notifying a supervisor. They are now being asked to wear ID at all times and ensure it’s visible.

By Linzi Sheldon, KIRO 7