SALEM, Ore. — A bill aiming to ban police officers from conducting fare checks aboard TriMet trains and buses is under consideration in the Oregon legislature.
HB 4097 was sponsored by Rep. Diego Hernandez (D, Portland), who sponsored a similar bill last year, which didn't get out of committee.
“Fare evasion is a civil penalty. To have police present in doing fare enforcement doesn’t really make sense," Hernandez told OPB earlier this week.
The Transit Police unit consists of officers from around the TriMet service area, including Portland, Gresham and Beaverton police departments.
These officers are not supposed to check for fares.
However, TriMet employs fare enforcement staff, whose job is to check for fares.
According to TriMet, Transit Police officers can serve as assistants to fare enforcement by helping out in situations which may escalate or safety becomes a factor.
Fare evasion is not a crime, but a violation of the system.
Roberta Altstadt with TriMet said the agency opposes HB 4097, saying it would stop police officers from "ensuring that the system is safe for all users and appropriately supporting our fare enforcement staff as they do their work."
Altstadt noted TriMet has changed their citation system, so passengers who are cited can directly deal with TriMet before it goes into the court system.
Ana del Rocio, a school board member, was arrested and charged with evading fare and providing false information to a police officer aboard a MAX in September 2018. A judge ruled that arrest was unconstitutional.
