King County Metro will honor murdered driver for years to come

In the early hours of Dec. 18, we lost a kind and dedicated public servant, King County Metro Bus Operator Shawn Yim. Shawn was beloved by his family and friends, and was funny, warm and thoughtful to his colleagues and riders.

Words can’t express the grief of his widow and extended family. They endured a sudden, massive loss due to homicide. Across King County Metro, we extend our deepest condolences to the family. As we offered our support in recent weeks, we were repeatedly humbled by their graciousness even during such dark days.

Metro colleagues describe Shawn as an extraordinary person, a friend, a great man, a mentor, and a person of high morals who believed in right and wrong. To newer bus operators in particular, Shawn “instilled hope, guidance and wisdom for their futures.”

Shawn’s customers shared times that he took extra care in making sure every kid going to school caught the bus safely. He encouraged them not to run and assured them he’d wait. Other riders told us of his attention to older passengers needing directions or help transferring to their next bus.

On Friday, Metro’s largest labor partner, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, will host a procession of buses and other transit vehicles. As I promised on Dec. 18, we will honor Shawn not for days, weeks or months, but for many years to come.

In addition to profound sadness for Shawn, many of our employees have shared their concerns — and sometimes anger — in relation to their own security and the safety of their riders. Our customers similarly deserve to know about the work already underway and Metro’s commitment to do more.

In recent years, Metro has more than doubled the number of transit security officers from 80 to over 170. We’re hiring more, while simultaneously recruiting for additional Metro Transit Police. Like so many police agencies nationwide, hiring is a challenge, and we encourage anyone with a guiding commitment to their community to apply (st.news/transit).

Metro is also redesigning our buses to strengthen protections for our operators. We’re assessing and improving upon the operator partition that was installed on all buses in 2020 and 2021. And we have two pilot buses featuring different prototypes of cockpit-style doors for the operator’s compartment.

Additionally, we placed an order with a bus manufacturer for four test buses with ADA-compliant, European-style operator compartment design. This design is similar to a light rail train, streetcar or subway. We are working with manufacturers to pursue other operator safety features, too.

Buses, much like our sidewalks, are vital public spaces that face many of the same safety challenges we’ve seen in our neighborhoods. That’s why Metro is discussing with cities, law enforcement and other regional partners the security challenges in the communities and on the streets where Metro provides service. We are grateful to ATU 587 for calling for a new regional task force on safety, and its impacts on transit, and look forward to being part of it.

So many of you — community members, Metro employees and our riders —have shown such incredible support in recent weeks. Thank you. On behalf of ourselves and our employees, we’d ask that you continue to love and to look out for each other. That can mean helping or listening. It can also sometimes mean being aware and, when appropriate or necessary, dialing 911.

Lastly, Metro extends its gratitude to Metro bus operators Anthony “A.J.” Ross and Timmothy Nelson, and Metro Transit Control Center coordinators Gary Fuller, David Nguyen and Anthony Oetjens, who played pivotal roles that led to the arrest of the suspect in Shawn Yim’s death. The Yim family also shares their thanks.

At Metro, we remain committed to providing the vital public service of transit. And it will continue to take all of us working together to live our values and to take care of one another.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this op-ed misstated Anthony Oetjens’ name.