NYPD Criticized After Viral Video Shows Cops Rushing Subway Car To Arrest Fare-Hopping Teen

Some of the officers allegedly pulled out guns on the teen while apprehending him.

NYPD is facing criticism for a viral video that shows a dozen police officers rushing a subway car to arrest a teen for fare evasion.

READ: NYPD Launches “Rap Unit” To Monitor Crime At Hip-Hop Concerts

In a report from The Washington Post, Adrian Napier was tackled to the ground, cuffed and frisked by a group of New York cops on a subway car Monday. The New York Police Department issued a statement saying that witnesses saw Napier with a gun and tried to approach him at another subway station before he slipped past a turnstile and boarded a train.

“Officers at the Franklin Avenue station located and identified the individual inside of the train and took him into custody without incident,” NYPD said in the statement. “The individual was arrested for not paying the fare and was charged with Theft of Service.”

A video of the incident, taken by Elad Nehorai, has since gone viral after being shared on social media. The video shows Napier sitting down inside the subway car as a group of police officers surround the entrance doors to the train. Once the doors open, officers descend on Napier and apprehend him.

“In case you’re wondering how an arrest in NYC goes down. The guy has made absolutely no indication that he would flee or fight and wasn’t trying to hide,” Nehorai said in the post sharing the video. “If you can’t see, the reason everyone moved was because all the police had taken out their guns and aimed at him.”

“After that one policeman took his gun out, two or three more took them out,” Nehorai told the Post. “For a moment, they were kind of pointing guns at everyone who was in that vicinity.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an agreement to add 500 additional uniformed officers to the NYC subway to combat fare evasion and improve public safety.

Source: The Washington Post