Video shows NYC MTA worker dragging subway passenger through train
NEW YORK -- A disturbing incident involving a subway passenger and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) worker was caught on camera.
CBS New York reports the video shows an MTA worker dragging a passenger from a subway train at the Church Avenue stop in Kensington, Brooklyn.
The Church Avenue stop is the last on the G Train, which means all passengers are supposed to get off. But when one man stayed sleeping in the subway car, an MTA employee took matters into his own hands -- he dragged the passenger on his back against the subway floor.
The subway rider was pulled past rows of seats by one arm. His shirt bunched and his skin skidded against the floor.
Once they reached the door, the neon-clad worker nudged the passenger with his foot and told him to get up. At one point, his coworker beckoned the passenger over.
By then, he was able to stand up and walk out on his own.
"You're on the job. You're in uniform," said witness Claude Harris. "What would give you that notion that you can do that and everything would be fine?"
Harris shot the video on his phone around 9 p.m. Saturday. He said the passenger had been sitting near him asleep for most of the ride.
"His face was pretty flushed," Harris said. "I didn't smell alcohol, but I can tell the results of someone drinking."
When the train pulled to the end of the line at Church Avenue, MTA workers started clearing out the cars. Harris stepped off, curiously watching the employee walk over to the sleeping stranger.
"He just immediately like goes, 'Yo! Wake up!' And just grabs him, throws him down, and before the guy can even know what was going on, he's being pulled by his hoodie," Harris said.
CBS New York showed the video to commuters. Everyone who saw it was horrified.
"Wow, and instead of kindly waking him up they're going to drag him," asked commuter Donald Smith. "That's a human being right there."
Many riders also said that passed out passengers are not exactly rare sights in the city, so the MTA should have a protocol for handling them.
"I think he should have called for help, so you know, you got more than one person to pick him up and help him out instead of dragging him," said commuter Sam Cekig.
"Having a coworker there, he could've opened up the other door and asked his coworker to help him escort the man off," added Harris.
The MTA denied CBS New York's request for an on-camera interview. A representative called the video disturbing, and said the employee has been removed from service while the incident is being investigated.