Metro's acting chief safety officer resigns

WASHINGTON - Metro has confirmed that its acting chief safety officer has resigned after more than six months on the job.

Louis Brown took over the position last September after former chief safety officer James Dougherty resigned after an incident occurred where an empty Metro train derailed in downtown Washington in the month prior.

A Metro report found a track problem that was previously known but wasn't fixed caused the train derailment.

Brown's resignation comes after Metro rail service was shut down Friday due to a tunnel fire near the Clarendon Metro station.

Metro also had an entire day shut down of rail service for all 91 stations on March 16 for emergency safety inspections and repairs of the system's underground jumper cables.

Brown had been with Metro since Dec. 2011 as he served as Metro's assistant chief safety officer prior to being elevated to acting chief safety officer.

Brown said in his resignation letter to Metro general manager Paul J. Wiedefeld that he feels his "career has come to a crossroads where it is time to make a change." The letter says his last day at the agency will be April 22.

Even before Brown's resignation, Wiedefeld had said filling the position with a permanent person was a priority. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel says interviews with candidates had been set up for next week.

Information from the Associated Press used in this report.