An off-duty police officer has been charged after he allegedly pushed an MTA subway conductor on a southbound J train at the Essex-Delancey Street station Wednesday morning, the NYPD said.
Police said there was some kind of disruption on the train and someone had yelled, “fire,” at about 9 a.m. The female conductor was exiting the booth into the car when, according to police, the person who was leaning on the door fell onto her as the door swung inward. The passenger was later identified as off-duty NYPD officer Tremel Davis.
Cops said Davis pushed the conductor, who then pulled the emergency break and fell to the ground, police said.
The conductor was taken to an area hospital, police said.
Davis, 33, is charged with assault in connection with the incident, according to police.
“Once again we see that the transit workers have jobs unlike any other,” TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said in a statement released on Wednesday. “They deserve every penny they earn — and then some. Transit workers risk being attacked and abused like this every day as they move millions of bus and subway riders. Just a few weeks ago, a lunatic set fire to a token booth with an agent inside. It’s a very stressful environment. It’s certainly isn’t an easy way to make a living.”
A video posted on Twitter by user @wbernard shows passengers confused by the incident and trying to get out.
“Something just happened on the J train. Someone yelled run and all hell broke loose,” the Twitter user wrote.
MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said the train operator was aware of the incident as it was happening, and made announcements and walked through the entire train within minutes to inform customers of the situation.
The incident caused service changes on the J and M trains, the MTA said. Regular service was restored with delays shortly after 10 a.m.
