Police thought Adrian Napier had a gun.
His arrest was caught on video. The 19-year-old black teenager was pulled to the ground and pinned down inside a subway cart. Moments before, Napier sat with his hands up as passengers scrambled towards the exits. Over 10 officers from the New York City Police Department rushed inside, and some already had their guns drawn. The teen was unarmed.
Napier was arrested for fare evasion after he allegedly jumped a turnstile and boarded a southbound 4 train after officers approached him. The police caught up with Napier at the Franklin Avenue station in Brooklyn.
In conversations with over a dozen New Yorkers in Midtown Manhattan, many had not seen the video footage, but it has gone viral with over three million views on Twitter. After hearing of the incident, Mark Dwar from New Jersey stated “the cops pulled a gun, maybe it was an overreaction, but listen, [the officer is] as nervous as me and you…so they’re just doing their job.”
Rafael Caldera from the Bronx said “its an abuse of power because it’s not necessary to take out a gun. It’s a young boy.”
A video taken in late October caught another confrontation between police officers and teenagers. Officers were responding to a fight between two large groups when a 15-year-old hit an officer, said the NYPD. A violent fistfight ensued on the subway platform at the Jay Street-MetroTech station in Brooklyn. Five teenagers were arrested on charges including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and assault on a police officer.
15-year-old Anthony Noel was a bystander. He was retrieving his backpack when he was allegedly punched multiple times by a police officer in the heat of the fight. He plans to sue the city for $5 million.
Many people stated that they were oblivious towards fare evaders, and chose not to get involved when they witnessed someone jumping the turnstile.
Bryan Polanco from the Bronx, was one of the few New Yorkers interviewed who said they occasionally avoid the fare.
Fare evasion costs the transportation system $240 million every year, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo. In June, he announced that an additional 500 officers would patrol bus routes and subway stations to deter riders from avoiding the fare. Signs encouraging the public to pay the fare and avoid a potential $100 fine can be seen on buses and subways.
Critics of Cuomo’s initiative believe that increased policing over fare evasion has exacerbated racial profiling and police brutality.
People of color were involved in both viral videos, furthering these claims against the NYPD
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Protesters in New York City thought so as well. Hundreds took to the subway and the streets of Downtown Brooklyn on Nov. 1 in response to these incidents. At the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street station, protesters jumped the turnstile and crowded the subway platform as they chanted and held signs.
Criminal justice advocates have also stated that people of color are targeted for fare evasion under Cuomo’s initiative, and are shamed for not being able to afford the fare. The Daily News reported that 86% of the 682 people arrested for fare evasion between April and June were Black or Latino.
Other critics of Cuomo’s plan, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, are concerned about the lack of body cameras on these new staffers. According to a spokesman for Cuomo, 300 staffers will be M.T.A. police officers, and are not required to wear body cameras because they are not part of the NYPD.
Williams credited the video footage on Twitter for raising awareness of the NYPD officers punching the young men. Without body cameras, video footage that would capture new cases of alleged police brutality and other alleged injustices will be less attainable.
Cuomo also stated the increased police presence would curb assaults on transit workers. Steven from Tribeca disagreed with the governor’s initiative, stating, “I don’t think that’s correlated at all. I think that’s an excuse if I’ve ever heard one. I think it’s ridiculous. Our tax money shouldn’t be going to staffing more policemen in the subway.”
Richard Sequeira, of Fairfield, Connecticut, had previously lived in Manhattan and rides the subway regularly. He supported the addition of police officers on the subway, stating, “I don’t think having cops on the beat is a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing to have more police officers down there.” Homelessness and other isolated incidents of violence on the subway were issues he cited for his reasoning.
“We have a problem on both sides of the front,” said Sequeira. The response from New Yorkers is clear—there is no consensus on the crackdown on fare evasion.
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