In a sweep to crack down on criminal activities and enforce rules, BART Police Department confiscated two guns and made several arrests at Fruitvale and Lake Merritt stations. According to a Facebook post, on Saturday an officer at Fruitvale Station nabbed Kevin Cockerham of Oakland for fare evasion and during the interaction, Cockerham tried to pull out a loaded 7” short-barreled rifle from his waistband, resulting in his arrest.
Late evening at the same station, Frank Scott of San Leandro was caught smoking and upon searching his sling bag, officials uncovered a loaded 9mm handgun; Scott, who was also on parole, was taken into custody, with BART emphasizing their officers' "visible presence at stations and inside trains to keep our system safe." the arrests didn’t end there at the Lake Merritt station, officers arrested three individuals last night, one with a felony warrant for auto theft out of San Jose, another was obstructing train doors while also having an outstanding warrant and the last person arrested having not just one but two felony burglary warrants as per an X post by BART.
The proactive enforcement actions are part of the transit agency's ongoing efforts to maintain safety and order across its network. These incidents have again highlighted the ongoing challenges of policing the BART system, which serves as a major arterial transport mode for Bay Area commuters, even as the agency works to deter criminal activity and ensure passenger safety.
