NYers Jump Turnstiles En Masse To Protest Police Brutality On The Subway
Close to 1,000 people marched through Downtown Brooklyn on Friday night to protest police brutality and a recent crackdown on fare evasion inside the subway system.
The peaceful action, organized by Decolonize This Place, took over major streets around the Barclays Center beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. Demonstrators eventually made their way underground, jumping the turnstiles en masse at Hoyt–Schermerhorn while chanting: “How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D.”
The “emergency action” comes in response to the MTA’s efforts to stop fare-beating, which have led to the deployment of 500 new subway cops across the transit system, among other deterrence measures. Two confrontations caught on video last weekend pushed that frustration to a “boiling point,” organizers said.
In the first instance, last Friday, police were seen pointing their guns at a crowded train car, before tackling 19-year-old Adrian Napier, who was believed to be in possession of a weapon. Napier, who had his hands up throughout the interaction, was found unarmed, and charged only with fare evasion.
A day later, cops responded to reports of a fight at Jay-Street—Metrotech. During a chaotic struggle, a police officer was caught on video punching two teenagers in the face, one of whom is now suing. The NYPD has declined to name the officers in either incident.
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
areudirty
