Employee Shows No Regard for Woodley Escalator Riders

WaPo is reporting that people were injured at L'Enfant Saturday on a Metro escalator that suddenly sped up.

While no one was injured in the story below, it seems much more alarming because of the purposeful actions of a Metro employee who knowingly endangered riders.

From Sara:

On the morning of Oct. 26, when I entered the Woodley Park Metro, the long (204') escalators were not working. One broken side escalator was blocked off and the other two were completely stopped.

There was some sort of security officer standing at the top with a walkie-talkie, explaining to concerned tourists that yes, the stopped escalators were not working and they would have to walk.

I started jogging down the middle escalator.

Other people were hiking up both escalators.

Suddenly, a genius Metro employee who was standing at the bottom of the escalators --- without any warning --- pressed a button and the stopped escalators started moving.

Everyone was thrown off balance, but fortunately, no one fell. Several exiting passengers had made it part way up the middle escalator, which (surprise!) was now going down.

WHY wouldn't the Metro employee, as he watched people walk right past him up the middle escalator, remark, "I am about to turn this on; that escalator will be going down, please walk on the left"?

What is the role of the security officer if not to warn people that the escalator might start at any moment?