State Auditor discusses investigation into Charlotte Area Transportation System

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- ABC11 sat down with State Auditor Dave Boliek on Thursday, who announced his office would be launching an investigation into CATS, the Charlotte Area Transportation System.

The investigation comes days after a video of a random stabbing that killed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was released, which showed her being attacked while sitting on the CATS system. That killing and video have led to a national uproar over public safety and the judicial system's handling of criminal defendants.

"We're honoring her family's wishes by looking into this and investigating. We're also doing it for the service workers who use the CAT system every day to get to and from work, we're doing it for the UNC Charlotte students," Boliek said.

Boliek said the investigation -- which was announced this week -- boils down to safety.

"The fact of the matter is that there have been several high-profile violent offenses, two veterans attacked just within the last five or six months in Charlotte," he said. "Those were high-profile attacks. And now Mrs. Zarutska was attacked and killed."

In a sit-down interview on Thursday, Boliek cited Zarutska's family, which was called for an investigation into safety on the transit system following her death.

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"That request, along with the fact that the mayor of Charlotte has talked about marshaling resources, adding resources, and changing processes and procedures, is what led our office to initiate an investigation," he said.

ABC11 asked Boliek why his office was targeting the transit system officially, and if they had data suggesting that rates of violence were higher on public transit in Charlotte than in other public spaces.

He said they didn't but referred to an internal CATS poll that found just 37% of people asked said they believed the system was safe.

"It's not a high result for a public transit system," he said. "So that leads us to believe that there is data that we need to mind and we need to look at to make that determination."

Boliek also cited Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles' claims that millions more dollars have been invested into the system, saying taxpayers should know where that money's being spent and whether it's making a difference following Zarutska's death.

"We're going to ask the tough questions of what type of return on investment are the citizens in Charlotte and users of the CATS system getting for that increase in spending," he said. "And where is that money going?"