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The man suspected of killing a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and injuring two other police officers in a shootout on an Amtrak train in Tucson has been held in multiple violent crime cases.
Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County sheriff’s office in Northern California, told The Arizona Republic that the alleged gunman, Darrion Taylor, 26, has been released from prison after subscribing to arrest on a pending warrant had opposed for a separate case in Sacramento.
Kelly said Taylor was wanted on a $ 200,000 warrant in a case accusing him of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, home shooting, and cruelty to a child. Kelly said Taylor attacked an officer and tried to take his firearm when he was being taken to the police station.
Taylor was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charges were later downgraded to assault with a lethal weapon and resistance to arrest. He then took out a $ 255,000 bond.
Law enforcement agencies searching for illegal items started arresting another man, Devonte Mathis, after finding marijuana and edibles in linked bags and contacted Taylor when authorities said Taylor pulled a gun and shot at her .
Officials said Taylor exchanged multiple shots with officials before barricading himself in a bathroom, where he was later found dead.
DEA special agent Michael Garbo was killed in the shooting and a second DEA agent and a Tucson officer were injured. Nobody else was hurt.Mathis is charged with substance abuse.
It is still unknown how Taylor got on an Amtrak train with a gun.
What can’t you take on an Amtrak train, including weapons?
On the Amtrak website, you can find a laundry list of items that passengers are not allowed to take in their hand luggage or are allowed at all.
Items that are not allowed to be carried on the train at all – regardless of whether it is checked baggage or hand luggage – include:
- Explosives, flammable gases and other fuels.
- Nightsticks, clubs, nun food.
- Knives, axes, spears and ice picks.
- Corrosive or dangerous chemicals, such as bleach and tear gas.
- Various household items such as power tools, cutlery, and furniture.
- Hoverboards.
Amtrak allows passengers to carry firearms such as rifles, shotguns, and pistols in their checked baggage under numerous restrictions, including:
- The weapon is in a pre-approved and sealed container weighing no more than 50 pounds.
- The weapon is unloaded and the ammunition is in the manufacturer’s original container in a separate checked bag.
- The passenger must call Amtrak at least 24 hours prior to departure to explain that they are checking firearms and ammunition.
- Checked baggage must be available at all train stations included in the passenger’s itinerary.
- Passengers must travel on the same train as their firearms and ammunition.
An Amtrak spokesman told The Arizona Republic that while train stations do not have metal detectors or other equipment to prevent someone from putting a firearm or other prohibited item on a train, they have their own police force and sometimes use K9 units, to look for contraband.
Balance between security and comfort
Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing at Arizona State University, said public transportation companies and organizations face the challenge of balancing passenger safety and overall comfort.
Scott said he could see the federal government put in baggage screening and other security measures similar to those at airports as serious crimes become a rising trend on trains.
“It’s not impossible to imagine a similar facility at train stations where you would have to go through security before boarding,” said Scott. “And then the boarding area – the other platforms – would have to be secured so that nobody can simply walk onto the platforms.”
He found that airports did not control the carry-on baggage of aircraft passengers until a surge in kidnappings in the 1970s required additional security measures and that airport security became even tighter after 9/11.
Scott said that if tragedies like the Amtrak shooting in Tucson are rare, if not uncommon, law enforcement may decide this is not an issue that needs to be addressed.
“There is no doubt illegal trafficking on trains,” said Scott. “There are many other things that happen in and around trains – graffiti, suicide, theft of passengers. But armed interactions with the police? I just haven’t heard much about that yet. “
Scott also said teams like the Phoenix Police Department’s volatile task force are trying to control as many factors as possible in planning when and where an arrest should be made to minimize the risk and that the Tucson shooting could lead the DEA and other law enforcement agencies to re-evaluate whether trains are a safe place to look for contraband.
Scott said this could mean law enforcement officers stop confronting people they suspect may be armed or carrying illegal items while driving a train and instead wait until they can be more easily confronted with fewer spectators .
“It can be assumed that the people who transport these drugs will be very interested in not having their drugs arrested or their drugs confiscated,” said Scott. “There is just a lot of money at stake, which increases the risk of violence, which increases the need for the police to approach the situation as safely as possible.”
Reach reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.
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