In a letter sent to the CapMetro Board of Directors in May, Chief Safety Officer Garnder Tabon said the department received authorization from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to continue the process of creating the new police agency.
“Authorization from TCOLE to continue in the process is a key milestone necessary to continue our work on recruitment and hiring, operational procedures and practices, partnerships with area jurisdictions, and more,” Tabon said.Once CapMetro gets the full authorization, the police chief can be sworn in and officers can be recruited.
“We expect to be certified by TCOLE in the coming weeks and the first officers to be hired by early 2025,” a CapMetro spokesperson said. The Transit Police Department is the third branch of the Public Safety Program, and they will work alongside the Community Intervention Specialists and Public Safety Ambassadors.
The bottom line is that this somewhat new approach with three specialized teams is designed to address each type of safety incident effectively with the right resources,” Tabon said in a. “Not every safety incident can be addressed the same, but with these three teams, we can build toward a safer transit experience for customers and our frontline team – and this allows us to get our customers and staff the support they need much quicker.