Iryna Zarutska’s family attorney files lawsuit against Charlotte, security company

CHARLOTTE — The attorney representing the family of a woman fatally stabbed to death while riding the Lynx Blue Line light rail one year ago, filed a lawsuit Friday in Superior Court against the city of Charlotte and Professional Security Services, which provides security for the Charlotte Area Transit System.

Iryna Zarutska was killed on Aug. 22, 2025. Police arrested DeCarlos Brown on murder and other charges; Channel 9 has followed the investigation as it has progressed through state and federal courts.

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The case got national attention and prompted an investigation by the state auditor.

The new lawsuit claims the defendants knew about violent crime that had been happening in and around the light rail before Zarutska’s killing on a light rail car in South End. The city and Professional Security Services, the security company contracted by the city for the light rail, did not use safety measures, including “fare enforcement, physical access barriers, adequate staffing, effective security deployment, monitoring, and passenger warnings,” the lawsuit claims. Zarutska’s family attorney said this led to the deadly stabbing as Zarutska was heading home from her job at a local pizzeria.

“What we have here is we have turning a blind eye to public safety,” said attorney Lauren Newton.

Brown, who has a history of violent crime, was charged with first-degree murder after surveillance video on the light rail train showed him stabbing Zarutska multiple times.

Family says safety measures could have prevented Zarutska’s death

The city did not deploy armed and unarmed security effectively on the Blue Line cars, the family attorney said.

“There wasn’t an armed security guard on that train,” Newton said. “What we know is security guards, armed or not, are deterrents to crime.”

No fare enforcement prevented Brown, who didn’t have a ticket, from boarding the light rail. There were also no physical barriers to prevent people who did not have a ticket from boarding the light rail, the suit said.

The state auditor’s office released a rapid response report on Aug. 17 that there was “limited interaction between CATS and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department,” and “at the time of Iryna Zarutska’s murder, there was no direct connection between CMPD’s Real Time Crime Center and CATS’s surveillance camera systems,” the lawsuit states.

Inadequate risk assessment, planning

The lawsuit refers to the state auditor’s report that there was inadequate risk assessment and safety planning, and CATS should refer to guidelines by the Federal Transit Authority.

The lawsuit points out local news organizations have been reporting on criminal activity, including four homicides, at and around stops on the Blue Line before Zarutska’s killing.

The city and PSS didn’t take action to correct the crime to protect law-abiding citizens while on the Blue Line, which included not warning the public about the dangers, the lawsuit said.

Newton said the lawsuit is about accountability for the Zarutska family and safety for everyone else

“I want to be able to ride that light rail again with my children, like we used to do, and feel comfortable going from the Seventh Street Public Market down here to the East/West Station to get Jeni’s Ice Cream and back on a Saturday,” Newton said. “I want to feel safe again doing that not only with my family but as a single female, if I’m riding it alone.”

The city of Charlotte is not commenting on the lawsuit right now, but both the city and PSS will have to respond to the filing in court over the next couple of weeks.

Brown remains in jail without bond. He has been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial at this time, while mental health evaluators work to restore his competency.

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