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Brenda Guzman had her school-issued MetroCard, but her sister Dabeiba didn't. However, Dabeiba did have a note from Bread and Roses High School, since her high school ran out of Metrocards, and Dabeiba presented the note, which said she should be allowed into the subway. But, according to NY1, that's wasn't enough for a transit officer on Monday afternoon.
The officer looked at the note and refused to let the girls pass, and when Debeiba attempted to get on the train anyway, the female officer grabbed her. Brenda intervened, telling the cop not to hurt her sister, and the transit cop hit her on the head with her radio. The two girls have been charged with trespassing, theft of services, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest; NY1 says Brenda is still in the hospital recovering from her head injuries.
The transit cop says that, because she was surrounded by aggressive teenagers, she felt threatened and that her life was in danger. A witness to the event paints a different picture:
"When I saw the girl come up to the train, I didn't see her really being resistful or really forcing and I didn't see anything threatening about the girls," said witness Cori O'Donnell. "They were a lot smaller than the cop, and that's why when I saw her hit in the head. It really shocked me, because the girls were so small compared to the cop."A lawyer for the girls claims that the only reason any criminal charges were filed against the high-schoolers was because they were subjected to and witnessed an incident of police brutality. We'll attest that large groups of teenagers on the subway can be, if not threatening, at least raucous and overhwhelming, but hitting a kid on the head seems fairly extreme.
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Thanks for putting up this story.
Lots of funny business going on. especially when the cop mentioned she feared for her life. The student was going home from an afterschool program, not in the thick of school letting out.
And, they got a witness, who's not a thug. He mentioned there were at the most four people on the train, not a mob of students hell bent on roughing up a cop.
I saw the sister on NY1 this morning - her sister's blood was all over her clothes. The force was definitely unnecessary and excessive. Crazy.
Transit cops are worse than the regular sort. They go through more shit dealing with crazy drivers so that makes them on edge and even bigger aholes.
But of course theres no excuse for this. Hopefully after this they'll stick her to a desk job for a long time.
i'm pretty sure officers are not allowed to use radios as weapons
More incompetent bullshit.
There was no reason for the MTA douche to hit the girl.
Thats it beat up on childern... excellent.so smooth and tactful.
A shining example of more rotten apples in the barrel.
It is the good ones who are few.
That MTA cop deserves a size 11 enema
I don't believe this was an MTA cop. Transit cops used to be members of the NY Transit Police Dept., overseen by NYC Transit, but the NYTPD was folded into the NYPD in 1995. There are still MTA Transit Police, but they are restricted to patrolling places like Grand Central and Penn Station. Subways are NYPD jurisdiction.
Not saying the force used by the cop was truly necessary BUT:
If a cop tells you that you can't take the subway she/he's working at, then you call your parents for help or go to another subway station and try again there. You do NOT force yourself onto the subway and disregard a cop. Cops don't give a sh*t if you're a girl, if you're small in stature, if you have a note from your teacher or you're late for school.
It would be wise to remember that.
why didn't the high school notify the MTA that their students didn't have metrocards?
An MTA attendent witnessed part of the incident and saw the officer attempt to keep the girl from entering the system. The attendent then saw a group of teens surround the officer. Heard the officer shouting "Get off me!", but did not see the assault with the radio.
Would it have been unreasonable for the girl to try another entrance or walk down 125th St (the nearest next station)? Yeah, it seems like a case of excessive force, but it sems equally clear the girl disobeyed an officer of the law who was doing her job.
Guess a trial will sort out the facts.
Unless there were knives or other weapons being flashed, the cop Is just trying to cover up her abusive tendencies by saying her life felt threatened.
Was bloodying a high school student over a $2 metrocard ride (which she was entitled to in the first place) worth it?
ABC Girl makes a good point. You don't just push your way onto the subway in front of a cop. That was just kinda silly, yes?
What I don't understand, though, is why did the girl talk to the transit officer and not the subway attendant?
The cop got home safe is all that matters.
and, no dogs were hurt during the incident.
(the above is white sarcasm)
I wish I was a jury on this trial. I have all the time in the world.
For the cop, it's one thing to uphold the law, it's another thing to be unreasonable and not let a student get on a train to go home with a note from the school.
I don't know how Brenda "intervened", or how disrespectful Dabeiba might have been, but they shouldn't flout the officer. There must be another way not to escalate the confrontation. Even though there have been times that I was right and the cop was wrong, I knew enough that it wasn't worth the hassle to argue my point and instead I filed a complaint, got his badge number, etc.
dont disobey the cops!!! just goto a different station.
Wait...Enemas come in sizes?
Were the girls white and dressed in private school kilts? I'm guessing the answer is no.
p.s. Okay, I'm just going to come out and say this. New York City is a seriously divided, racist and often mean town.
And shame on the cop.
p.p.s. I don't care what colour of skin the cop has. White rich little girls with the same behaviour would not be treated this way. (And I am saying this as a white, rich (formerly little) girl.
Vanessa - you are stupid and boring.
p.s. I'm saying this as a white, middle-class man.
don't you see? being a cop is the most dangerous BloJob in the world.
that's why I dance a jig whenever an NYPD cop dies or has karma served upon them. And, I'm not even Irish.
Not once in all my years had I ever needed a cop and it will stay that way. I'm a big boy and don't need cops nor the government to take care of me. I'm responsible for myself.
D,
You're quite witty.
Am I the only one who thinks that obnoxious NYC public school kids had it coming in general? Getting on the train with a pack of loud-mouthed (and often foul-mouthed) brats is unbearable. Every day around mid-afternoon, I look at the inescapable throngs of kids crowding the trains disturbing everyone who is trying to quietly keep to themselves with a book or an ipod, and I think, "These kids are the future of NYC. I need to make a plan to get back to LA."
yes, kids are loud, foul, and crazy.
but it seems to me that everyone forgets what it's like to be a teenager. (which was my biggest beef with adults growing up.)
ps. i'm saying this as a 26 year old. (not that it should matter.)
stickofit: you are such a jerk. I hope you never have kids in this lifetime. These girls are now marked for life all because a stupid, probably racist cop couldn't use her common sense and let them ride the train. If she would have done this, she would have gotten home to her empty life and the girls would have gotten home to do their homework and prepare for the next day. The transit cop was a total DUMBASS!
It's about time a transit cop got busted for totally abusing her power. It really sickens me to see these guys picking on kids, and yet they're never there to get rid of nasty and sometimes hostile/deranged homeless pple who stink up the trains. It amazes me that we have hundreds of cops standing around the subways waiting to bully kids; I know NYC is alot safer now but can't we post these guys anywhere else, say Brownsville?