MTA To Install Cameras On Glasses Of Some NYC Subway Conductors As Part Of Safety Initiative
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A subway conductor was viciously attacked on an A train in Brooklyn early Saturday morning.
On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 100 fought back, announcing new ways to keep their employees safe, CBS2's Marc Liverman reported.
Fists flying. Two subway riders put their entire bodies into punching a subway worker, over and over again.
"It was disgusting," MTA President Andy Byford said. "It was appalling when I saw that footage."
Cellphone video captured the attack. The train was ordered by the dispatcher to run as an express after the Grant Avenue stop in East New York. That's when the furious man and woman start assaulting the worker right through the open subway window.
"We know that the train was subject to a delay, but that in no way excuses the behavior that went on that day. A decent colleague of mine was merely trying to do his job and he was assaulted," Byford said.
The 62-year-old conductor appeared to fight back, but it wasn't enough to stop his attackers. The victim was still recovering Tuesday and too shaken to speak on camera.
"Every day, pretty much people are verbally assaulted. They are spat at. They are punched. They are threatened and that is unacceptable," Byford said.
MORE: CBS2 Exclusive: Woman Recounts Savage Beating She Endured On No. 1 Train In The Bronx -- Over A Seat
On Tuesday, Byford and members of TWU Local 100 set out to end these kinds of attacks, announcing plans to have more police officers on subways and buses -- on top of additional security measures.
The plan is to start putting cameras on a few hundred conductors' safety glasses so that everything they see is caught on camera both inside the train and on the subway platform.
"The ultimate plan down the line is that we would like to see these things installed on the cab of the conductor permanently," TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano said.
The hope is the technology will help stop attacks on MTA workers once and for all.
"We come to work and then go home to our families. We don't want to come to work and then go to the hospital," Utano said.
The MTA is also putting up posters showing people who have attacked MTA employees. Officials hope someone will recognize any of the suspects and help get them caught.
The TWU hasn't said when those cameras will start being used.
