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Long Island Rail Road etiquette enforcer John Clifford – famous for his crusade against rude behavior during his morning commute – was in court yesterday to face charges stemming from a train altercation in March 2007. The retired cop-turned-lawyer stands accused of, among other things, slapping a woman who dared intervene while Clifford berated another passenger for talking loudly on his cell phone.
Clifford’s been arrested or ticketed eight times for similar incidents, such as pouring coffee on the head of a woman after she spilled some on him, and throwing an egg sandwich – an incident he denies but which earned him the nickname "The Eggman" among fellow travelers. But he's never been convicted because no one’s ever showed up in court to testify against him – until now.
Lydia Klein testified yesterday that Clifford hit her hand when she tried to stand up for one Nicholas Bender, who was on the receiving end of Clifford’s invective for his loud cell phone chatting. Clifford insists Klein slapped him first when he tried to intercept the business card she was handing to Klein, but he fully admits calling Bender a “f--king faggot… I shouldn't have to put up with some 19-year-old nitwit waking up one girlfriend after another. I have as much right telling this guy he's being an a--hole as he has a right being one."
Whether Clifford has a right to his etiquette enforcement is for the judge to decide, but he’s clearly fed up with being pushed around. According to Newsday, last fall Clifford filed a $5 million lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan against the LIRR, MTA police, an LIRR brakeman, an MTA police detective and three fellow riders; he accuses them of “violating his First Amendment rights, defaming and libeling him, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.”
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what a dick.
is there anyone who lives on long island who isn't an asshole?
This guy is the worse type of bully that should have had his ass kicked long ago. There is a better way to let people know they are being rude wothout becoming worse than that which you are complaining about.
they should make him get off the lirr at jamaica and take the subway the rest of the way to work. he won't pull that shit there.
I think this guy needs some anger management, at best, but more likely a therapist.
Did you, sir, call the defendant a faggot?
...
Did you, sir, then refer to the defedant as having multiple girlfriends?
...
Therefore, sir, are you in fact an idiot that doesn't know what a faggot is? I remind you, sir, you are under oath and can be charged with perjury for lying.
ack... substitute defendant and defedant with "accuser"
Who the hell formatted that list?
It would be worth 30 days in the hole to beat the ever loving s*** out of this jerk.
His motives, pure. His methods, unsettling.
He would have a ball on the trains in Brooklyn.
What an ass. Being a big shot, slapping people around and getting his little-weenie aggression out under the guise of "fighting rudeness."
Retired or not, you just can't take the jerk out of being a cop. Once a jerk always a jerk. Where's his gun? That would make for some exciting reading.
Clifford has some impulse control issues, but having suffered through many an inane cell phone conversation on the LIRR or Metro North, that not even my iPod could drown out, I can see where the Cliffster is coming from.
The moral of the story is "be passive-aggressive, not aggressive-aggressive."
Wow, am I really going to be the first commenter to support John Clifford, aka my new hero? If he eased up just a little bit on slapping women he might be my write-in vote for President.
Just tell them to take their cellphone outside.
it seems that he really is just an plain old fashioned asshole, this behavior wouldnt fly on the average rush hour commute on the bronx or brooklyn,
maybe in manahattan south of 96th street on the east side or as far west as columbia on the west side.
How can you support someone who physically assaults people (illegal) for talking on a cell phone (legal)?
@robingee:
Sarcasm is harm to convey in text form; next time I will finish my sentences with, "But seriously, folks..."
I split my time between Manhattan and Long Island. People on the LIRR are complete assholes.. The closer you get to NYC, the bigger the asshole that thinks that they can scream into their cell phone, call after call without any regard for the people around them.
Then you have the assholes that play reggaeton on their laptop for the whole train to hear. News Flash, all the songs sound exactly the same, and no one wants to hear your shitty computer speakers.
After that, you get the people who have just purchased their first cell phones ever. They decide that commuting time is the best time to select the ring tone that best reflects their personality.
Finally, while nail clipping is typically reserved for those that ride the 7 train two and from Flushing, you will occasionally run into a nail clipper.. You know.. you're sitting there reading the paper and... clip.. clip... clip.
While you can't sit here and say some of the things this guy does are extreme, there is a lot of obnoxious behavior on the LIRR. The next time you feel like defending one of those assholes shouting into their cell phone on 90 minute trip... think about how you feel when people don't know how to STFU in the movie theater. These people that have this sense of entitlement... they think the world spins on their dime need to be put in their place. I've made the effort to shut them up on more then one occasion.
This guy has been divorce twice and his previous employer at HBO called him "unstable"
Enough said.
I've never had the pleasure of taking the LIRR and I haven't experienced the commuting pleasures frost has experiences... but whilst they may be rude, obnoxious and downright nasty... it doesn't in anyway justify Clifford's actions.
Being a former cop, surely he knows that every single person he's touched in an agressive manner could sue him for assault, and probably win?
He should also know, that you can't take the law into your own hands... And I'm pretty sure the First Amendment doesn't include a clause saying he can hit anyone he likes because he has a grudge with them, nor pour coffee or throw a sandwich at them.
Take a picture of them, post it on a website and/or put up posters of the photographed people naming and shaming them.
Sure, it doesn't have the same effect... but at least the only damage done is to their pride...
I love how some of the comments put this guy down and then say he should have something violent happen to him.
There are too many dicks on the subway, LIRR, etc. If everyone reminded their fellow passengers how to behave in public, it wouldn't have gotten as bad as it has. It seems especially bad with the NYC-wannabes who don't understand that communal living requires common courtesy.
Unfortunately, this guy has become another kind of menace.
There are far fewer assholes on the LIRR than there are on the Subways. A normal daily commute is quite tolerable and comfortable, especially if your able to get a seat.
This Clifford dude should practice this shit on the subways instead, where his brand of tough justice is greatly needed.
"Then you have the assholes that play reggaeton on their laptop for the whole train to hear."
OMG! Iv'e totally been on the train with that guy!!
The whole time I was thinking "are laptops the new ipod?"
The LIRR is getting worse and worse with people and their deafening, dueling gadgets.
This guy is truly an asshole, but sometimes I wish he would appear at stategic moments.
Like, when I'm trapped on the train with some loud and deserving birdbrain. (You know the kind; Long Island is especially famous for 'em -- the kind that thinks it's absolutely adorable for everybody to hear their inane hour-long conversation about how they were wronged at the Mandee Shop.)
I don't want to see anyone hurt -- I just sort of wish he would arrive with his famous coffee and egg sandwich, right then and there...
[26], I see what you mean. It would be interesting to see what he would do to the preachers on buses and trains. I'm sure Jesus would save them.
Metro North is down right boring compared to these LIRR stories.
And he's been acquitted.
I ride the LIRR every damn day, and while there are plenty of jerks who make me want to go postal, I am enough of an adult to realize that there's a million and one ways to deal with the situation that do not involve pouring a cup of coffee over somebody's head. This guy is a menace and I'm really glad somebody's stood up to him. The fact that he reserves his violent acts for women just adds to his charm.
I really hope people start bringing civil suits against him. He's not going to sit down and shut up until people start hitting him in the pocketbook. He's by far the most disruptive commuter I've ever heard of, and that includes the nail-clippers, Mandee shoppers, high school pot smokers, and drunken Rangers fans.
Whats with the Mandee Shopping references? Do Long Island people shop there often?
JOHN CLIFFORD BETTER WATCHOUT CAUSE IM NO PUSH OVER AND I HATE COPS EVEN EX-PUNK ASS BITCH COPS LIKE YOU AND STEVE WILKOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
POUR A CUP OF COFFEE OVER MY HEAD AND I PROMISE 60 YEAR OLD MAN OR NOT IM SHOVING THAT CUP UP YOUR ASS AND THEN I WILL PROCEED TO KICK YOU IN THE HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAYBE THOSE EAST COASTERS PUT UP WITH YOUR CRAP BUT IM A WEST COAST TRANSPLANT AND LIKE I SAID HATE COPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EVERYBODY ON LONG ISLAND THINKS THEY ARE THE SOPRANOS, FUCK LA COSA NOSTRA SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HELLS ANGELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!