TACOMA, Wash. — Prosecutors in Pierce County, Wash., have filed a felony charge against a 65-year-old Tacoma man accused with derailing one car of an oil train to derail on Tuesday in Tacoma’s Tideflats industrial area.
The Tacoma News Tribune reports the man was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with a felony count of malicious injury to railroad property. The car involved was part of a BNSF Railway train, the News Tribune reports — a correction of its original report which said a Tacoma Rail train was involved.
The News Tribune does not name defendants in non-violent crimes. It reports that according to court records, the man has a history of mental health issues, having first been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1980. He has been hospitalized at least 10 times and has a criminal history in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Ohio, and Illinois.
Court documents report that the train’s conductor told police that he was walking along the train after an emergency brake application to determine the cause, and saw the defendant throwing a switch lever back and forth. Movement of the switch while the train was passing caused the derailment, he said. Rail and port workers then followed the man until he was detained.
The most humane way to deal with this person is to ban him from riding the bus(es) which traverse the Tideflats. It is a large area and not one which a 65 year old is likely to want to traverse on foot. Much of it is Port of Tacoma property from which he could be banned as well and kicked out of should he try it again without any police or court intervention.
https://www.bnsf.com/in-the-community/safety-and-security/police-team.page
BN has its own police force for this sort of thing. It allows them to handle things without having to go to court or wait around for local police. Also they are familiar with railroading, so they are aware of dangers (like standing on tracks in a switching yard) which might not be obvious to outsiders.
As far as I know, malicious mischief, even if the guy could be convicted, is not punished with a life sentence.
It is quite likely that switches in the Tideflats area are generally left unlocked, since switching occurs all day and night at the various industries.
If this had happened in a country like Russia or North Korea or China, there wouldn’t be any arrest. The trespasser would have been shot on sight by either the police or military guard and no questions asked or answered or even disputed by the local media or press. While those measures may be harsh by our American brand of justice, They certainly don’t fool around with any threat to intrastructure whether it is railroads , power plants highways or miltary installations. This case in Tacoma wasn’t just some curious railfan or person being interested in railroad or train operations but clearly a clear threat to safety and security to both railroad personel and the public alike. Defintely a deliberate attempt to destroy and sabotoge rail equipment and intrastructure and this monster deserves no less than a life sentence in jail and made an example of for any would be or future creatures bent on such destruction
Joseph C. Markfelder
The man has a history of mental health issues and is not a “monster”.
Had this person lived in any other advanced/semi-advanced country he would have been institutionalized decades ago with no chance of release. We used to do the same in this country but it was deemed inhumane and some of the sanitariums were worse than medieval prisons. So we can warehouse them or clean up derailments. Tough call.
So they don’t use switch locks or did the guy have a key?
Would they upgrade the non-violent status if there had been a leak and a fire?
article:………”and saw the defendant throwing a switch lever back and forth”
Why weren’t the police called? Clearly a trespasser, even more disturbing was his visible tampering with RR equipment. To me the train should NOT MOVE until the trespasser has been removed by the police. Obviously he clearly displayed danger to safe operations. Like it’s said: “see something, say something”. endmrw0511230903
“Man accused with charging one car”. Was the low battery light on?
Good answer. At first I was thinking it was New English, like new math. Now if an elephant charged a car and derailed it I could believe, but a single man, No Way.