The family of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska is suing the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a security company over her tragic death. This was reported by infohub.kz.
A lawsuit filed on Friday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court in Charlotte alleges that Zarutska's death was preventable. The document claims that the city and the security company serving the Charlotte Area Transit System failed to provide adequate safety measures despite knowing about violence on the city's light rail line.
The lawsuit, filed by Zarutska's uncle, Frank Scott Haskell, states that the defendants were aware of safety concerns on public transit. It emphasizes that the city and Professional Security Services "were responsible for protecting lawful passengers from known and foreseeable danger," and that their inaction led to the tragic incident.
The lawsuit criticizes insufficient fare enforcement and a lack of security personnel. It argues that simple measures such as fare enforcement, turnstiles, or proper security staffing could have prevented Zarutska's death, and that the city had sufficient funds for these measures.
The family is seeking monetary damages and hopes that the legal action will lead to security changes across Charlotte's light rail system.
The lawsuit was filed one year after Zarutska was fatally stabbed while riding a light rail train home from work. Decarlos Brown Jr. was charged in her death. In June, a judge ruled Brown incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness.
According to relatives, Zarutska had lived in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the U.S. in search of a safer life. She was determined to build a secure future.
Zarutska's death sparked a public debate on violent crime, mental illness, and public transit safety, raising questions about whether cities like Charlotte are doing enough to address these issues.
The Trump administration and its allies used the incident as evidence that local authorities and judges in Democratic-led cities are failing to protect residents from violent crime.
In September, North Carolina passed Iryna's Law, which redefined certain violent offenses, imposed bail limits for those charged with violent crimes, and ended cashless bond releases in certain circumstances.