A video circulating on social media shows a New York City police officer forcing a girl out of a subway station for not swiping a MetroCard.
In the video, a female officer accuses the girl of jumping the turnstile. The girl responds, saying people before her were allowed entry without paying prior to the officer approaching her.
“You just let all these people go through the doors,” the girl says.
“Because I allowed them. They didn’t jump the turnstile,” the officer replies.
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As the video continues, the officer starts to push the girl toward the exit. As the girl yells “don’t touch me,” the officer forces her outside.
“I’m trying to go home,” the girl says.
“And I said no,” the officer says. “You’re no longer welcome in this subway station.”
The New York Police Department told the Daily Dot that the video posted to Instagram “did not record the entire incident.”
“Specifically it did not show the female attempt to jump over the turnstile without paying the fare,” said NYPD’s deputy commissioner of public information, Lt. John Grimpel. “As a result of this action, the officer approached the female and instructed her to properly enter the system by swiping a MetroCard. She was asked multiple times to pay the fare which she refused and was physically removed from the Transit System.”
Grimpel said a summons was not issued.
More than 2,500 police officers now patrol New York City’s subway, according to the New York Times, and Gov. Chris Cuomo has been in favor of adding more, citing fare evasion as one reason. But riders have expressed outrage over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority handling of the city’s public transportation, including the decision to increase police presence.
Riders have expressed “dissatisfaction with the transit system’s efficiency and accessibility that, in their opinion, has not improved much, combined with anger over the perceived treatment of marginalized riders,” according to Vox.
Some Instagram users have called for accountability for the police officer, who they say unfairly confronted the girl.
“This is $2.75 problem,” said the user behind the Instagram account @societysconcerns. “She’s probably a student with a MetroCard and done forgot it at home.” Fare for a local subway ride in New York City is $2.75, according to the MTA’s website.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
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