Escalator stopped for an emergency

CVC reached out and said there was "an incident involving Laurel Martin, requested no further information. Then after a response requesting how they verified there was no fallen guest, they responded that they are not making accusations.
Emails logged.
Hi Lachelle,

Speaking with Laurel, she recorded a man going down the the wrong direction of the escalator (over 6’ and bearded) and moving people out of the way when he fell. According to the guide, others were trying to stop the escalator but did not know how and she assisted. The man got up and kept going presumably to catch up with his party.
How was it verified that no one had fallen?
I can come to the Capitol to discuss this incident.

Andrew Hartsmith (he/him)
Director of Operations
Unscripted Tours by GTDC

On Oct 20, 2023, at 12:04 PM, Slade, Lachelle <lachelle.slade@aoc.gov> wrote:

Hi Andrew,

There was an incident involving Laurel Martin today. See below.

Per 2 Visitor Operations' Manager:

A Guide called a Manager stating that the escalator wasn't working. The Manager responded and while they were on the phone with 88000, Laurel Martin approached and stated that "I thought I'd let you guys know that the escalator was not working, so that you guys don't get sued." After the situation, another Manager stated that an Officer observed and reported Laurel Martin press the emergency stop button because she thought someone had fell, but we were able to verify that no one had fallen.

Lachelle Slade
Assistant Director of Visitor Operations

United States Capitol
Capitol Visitor Center
Washington, D.C. 20515
Email: Lachelle.Slade@aoc.gov
Website: www.visitthecapitol.gov


-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2023 11:18 AM
To: Slade, Lachelle <lachelle.slade@aoc.gov>
Subject: Laurel Martin

Lachelle,

For your awareness, I (VOM) was called to come to the down escalator behind south info, since it stopped working. Upon my arrival Laurel Martin said, “I wanted to let you guys know about the escalator since I don’t want you guys to get sued”. I said ok and then called 8-8800 to get it fixed. After the fact, I learned that Laurel thought someone fell down the escalator and she pressed the emergency stop button (per USCP).

VOM
Sent from my iPhone