Family, friends and colleagues remembered CATS bus operator Ethan Rivera at a rally and memorial ceremony in uptown Charlotte on Saturday.
The ceremony marked one year since Rivera was shot and killed while driving a bus in uptown in what police described as a road-rage incident.
Dozens of Rivera's colleagues attended, many wearing their CATS uniforms. Representatives for local labor groups also attended, including Ashley Hawkins, president of the Charlotte-Metrolina Labor Council.
"Ethan was a family man, a devoted father, who worked diligently to provide for his own. Ethan was a protector. I know bus drivers who say that Ethan would stand with them at the transit center when it looked a little dangerous, and wait for them to get on their route," Hawkins said.
Attendees released blue, black and white balloons, and watched as Rivera's mother, Sylvia Rivera, released doves to honor her son's memory.
"My son was a good man. He was powerful. He was a softy at heart, and I miss him tremendously," Rivera's mother said.
Organizers also presented Rivera's mother with a bracelet with her son's name, and she said she hoped the bus operators could bargain for more safety and security measures.
"I just don't want his death to be in vain. I want you guys to fight. I want you guys to be safe. I want you guys to go home. Ethan never made it home," she said.
CATS driver Gia Lockhart and former driver Nichel Dunlap-Thompson were among the organizers of Saturday's memorial and rally.
Lockhart said she wanted lawmakers to make it a felony to assault bus drivers. She also said she hoped the city would pursue other safety measures like bulletproof barriers inside CATS buses.
"Everyone else comes to work in their office and they're safe. But this is our office, and we're not safe," Lockhart said.
Other attendees included CATS operator Robert Campbell, who said he had been working as a bus driver since 1986.
"Something needs to be improved for safety for these younger operators coming behind me," Campbell said. "Better security, better response time. I sit on the side of the road for an hour and 30 minutes waiting for the police to come get someone off my bus. I shouldn't have to wait that long."
He also said many buses in the CATS fleet are aging and in need of repairs and said he hoped the city could purchase newer, safer vehicles.
In March, a 21-year-old man was charged in Rivera's homicide.
Saturday's memorial came one week after CATS drivers represented by the local SMART union voted to accept a new contract, which will provide higher pay and other benefits.
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