PORTLAND, Ore. -- A light-rail train operator who was at the controls when a boy was separated from his father on a MAX platform has been fired, TriMet officials said Wednesday.

Paul Cooper did not respond to four calls from the boy's father on the emergency intercom system, transit officials said.

"This operator's actions were unacceptable," said Fred Hansen, TriMet's general manager, in a news release. "They also do not represent our 1,300 operators who everyday deliver quality service to thousands of riders."

TriMet officials said there were no mechanical or intercom problems present when the boy's father tried to call for help.

Cooper was a 20-year TriMet employee and a MAX operator for about 12 years.

The president of the transit union, Jonathan Hunt, said TriMet was too quick to throw Cooper under the train.

"This is a 20-year veteran. He's a good guy. He has a family and now, on his anniversary and Thanksgiving, he's (looking) at where his job is at," he said.

Hunt said the communication system on Cooper's train was not operating properly and said the operator never received any of the four alerts.

"If the operator didn't get any of those messages, it could've been 15 times. If he only got one and took the appropriate action when he got it, then it's a different story," Hunt said.

The 3-year-old boy's mother, Emily Bailey, said Wednesday that she's relived Cooper was fired.

"It upsets me as a mother that it took this to make people more aware of what's going on," she said. "I hope that it is a lesson to the rest of the TriMet operators and drivers that they can't treat riders the way that they do."

Father, Son Separated At Station

Aaron Bailey and his 3-year-old son, Aiden Bailey, were separated Nov. 16 at 8:13 a.m. at the Southeast Main Street station.

Aiden stepped off the train, but as he did, he pushed the accessible ramp button on the door. This caused the door to close to allow for the wheelchair ramp to deploy. The door never reopened and Aiden was separated from his father, who remained inside the MAX train.

TriMet officials said Aaron Bailey pushed the emergency intercom button four times to call for help but the operator didn't respond.

Orianne Greene, a 22-year-old Portland State University nursing student from southeast Portland, was waiting to take the MAX train when she saw the father and son become separated.

Greene pushed the button on the outside of the train to open the MAX door, but nothing happened.

"As the train started to pull away, I yelled at (Aaron Bailey) through the doors: 'I'll stay here! I'll stay with him. I'll stay with him.' And I saw him look at me and nod," Greene said.

Greene said she calmed the boy and talked about his father. She assured him his father would return quickly.

Seven minutes later, Bailey returned on a southbound train from Gateway. He exchanged hugs with Greene and thanked her. Surveillance video from TriMet showed the boy and his father holding hands and walking away.

Previous Stories:

• November 20, 2009: MAX Door Separates Boy, 3, From Dad
• November 23, 2009: MAX Stranger: Your Dad 'Will Be Right Back'

TriMet Fires MAX Operator After Boy Left Behind