Family of slain dad Michael Brady sues TriMet for $1.6M
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The family of Michael Brady, stabbed to death with a butcher knife on a MAX train near the 82nd Avenue transit station in March, filed a $1.6 million lawsuit against TriMet for a lack of security that led to his killing.
Michael Fuller, an attorney for Underdog Law representing the family, told KOIN 6 News the lawsuit is not just about the money for the Brady family.
"The family is asking for two things. One, first and foremost, is compensation. They've lost their bread earner, a son has lost a father, a wife has lost a husband," Fuller said. "And second, they're looking for changes in how these trains operate when it comes to safety."
On March 29, Brady was coming home from work at around 6 p.m. when he was stabbed as the eastbound train approached the 82nd Avenue Transit Station. Police found Brady, 51, on the platform with apparent stab wounds to his shoulder, chest and abdomen, according to court documents.
Authorities arrested 51-year-old Shondel Larkin after finding him alone inside the train with a knife and appeared to have blood-stained clothes, court documents said.
Surveillance video from inside the train showed Larkin, armed with what appeared to be a knife, was not provoked before repeatedly stabbing Brady multiple times, officials said. “Brady and the suspect were sitting near each other on the train, but they had no contact prior to the assault,” PPB said.
In a statement in the days after his death, his wife, Nora Brady, described him as a loving father and husband.
“I want people to know that my husband was a great human being, a loving father of a 6-year-old boy, and a loving husband,” Nora Brady said in April. “Michael Brady was a wonderful person.”
In their lawsuit filed Tuesday in Multnomah County, Brady's family blames TriMet for his death.
"Had TriMet provided adequate security measures and personnel on the MAX train Michael Brady boarded on March 29, 2024, Michael Brady would have safely arrived at home to have dinner with his wife and son. Had TriMet warned the public and its passengers and Michael Brady of the known and foreseeable violence and physical assaults perpetrated by dangerous passengers on its MAX trains, Michael Brady would have taken alternate transportation to get home," one section of the lawsuit states.
"Studies and experts tell us that by having guards, whether armed or not, will actually help deter violence, even violence from mentally ill individuals. So that's the first thing is just more supervision, more monitoring in real time on these trains. If you simply cannot make these trains safe, then you at least need to warn the public that these are dangerous places and they need to act accordingly," Fuller said.
In asking for a jury trial, the Brady Estate seeks no more than $1,660,400 and requested a jury trial for the case.
KOIN 6 News reached out to TriMet officials for comment. Their response: "TriMet doesn’t comment on pending litigation."
Fuller said he and his team will interview TriMet decision-makers to determine if their leadership did everything they could to prevent Michael Brady's death.
"Our goal is always to use these cases, to not only compensate families for their loss but to make things safer for riders in the future," he said.