The NYPD just confirmed that this man was arrested for farebeating.
Since this video has gone viral, police now claim they were also responding to what they describe as "unfounded reports" of a person with a gun.
But this man was arrested for farebeating, an offense wholly unrelated to possession of a gun.
But this man was arrested for farebeating, an offense wholly unrelated to possession of a gun.
It's not unusual for police to come up with very vague pretexts to justify stops and searches - they received a report of a person with a gun, or a person matches the description of a suspect - in the hope that they will then come up with something to make an arrest.
In the NYC subway, there has been such an influx of new cops - nominally to fight fare evasion - it seems to have led to a whole bunch of cops with nothing to do, so they're either standing around or employing SWAT-like tactics to take down someone for not paying a $2.75 fare.
And, let's say for a minute, the police did genuinely believe this person had a gun, this would have to be the worst, most irresponsible way I can imagine to arrest him. To cause massive panic in the confined space of a subway car with someone who may be armed.
It's unreal.
It's unreal.
