UPDATE: MTA Seeks Train Crew In Charge During Bloody 6 Train Brawl

After Gothamist reported yesterday on a vicious fight on an uptown 6 train that left a woman bleeding severely from the face, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to track down the train crew on duty when the melee took place. "We still haven't isolated the crew yet. We are trying to isolate the crew and take it from there," said MTA Transit spokesman James Anyansi.

It remains unclear exactly when the altercation took place and why the fight broke out. Also uncertain is how the train crew responded to the brawl. When fights occur, crews are expected to reach out to dispatchers before proceeding, Anyansi said. "They contact the rail control center right away. The rail control center relays the call to the NYPD. Then the NYPD gives instruction as to what should to happen — whether or not they should stay in the station and wait for police."

During the fight, passengers appear to hold car doors open for more than two and a half minutes — but police and MTA employees don't show up, the Post points out. Towards the end of the brawl, a woman who had been trying to break up the fight by pleading "Please stop!" is punched in the face on the platform of the 3rd Avenue/138th Street station. As the video cuts out, the bloodied woman is dragged back onto the train as the doors close. Some commenters on the subway forum SubChat claim that the train crew wasn't responsive enough and could have sounded the horn for assistance because at the Third Avenue-138th Street station "there is a good chance that there is a cop in the booth."

Update: MTA Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges told Gothamist that unless witnesses come forward with more information about when the fight occurred, it will be difficult for authorities to track down those who are responsible.

As of this writing we have no reports of this incident, no customer complaints/reports made to any employee that night. Without a specific date to go by, or a car number, or time of incident it’s going to be hard for us to track this down. Believe me, we are not amused by this video and would like nothing other than to be able to track this down and get to the bottom of it — including providing information to the NYPD for them to make arrests in this case.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Muessig in News on December 28, 2009 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

LB

My question is , What were they suppose to do ? I mean they can't get involved in the fight by trying to break it up . The rules state they are suppose to follow a chain of command in these types of situations . I believe they did just that and called this incident in to there superiors . So what more do you want ? It's not the crews fault this happened and somebody got hurt. It's MTA protocal that's at fault here, as well as the police response . Meaning even at 2:30am there should have been a cop at that station patrolling the platform ! Where did that happen ? Was that the Hunts Pt. Station ? No Excuse for that, It's a transfer station !

potsmoker

yup, its been widely reported here on gothamist that the easiest way to get the attention of the police is to

PUT YOUR FEET UP ON THE SEAT.

Guest

the macho-ness of this video is severely weakened by the 2 girlfriends getting involved.

5borough

That was boyfriend-girlfriend verus same.

Who cares?

Both couples had plenty of opportunity to avoid this. Loser. The four of them should have spent the night in the pokey for annoying the normal riders.

mike93

my question is it looked like they were right next to the conductors cab cause you could see on the train that you couldnt walk through the doors, so the conduct was obviously in that car or the car next to it, so what happened

jackmurphy

If subway workers won't even alert the cops while a woman is being raped in the station, why would we expect them to alert the police for a minor incident like this?

tsol

EXACTLY. Unless it's in da Union rulebook they're not gonna do it.

PS- the original cell phone video has some form of time stamp, even if the youtube version has scrubbed it. Track down the original poster and you're on your way to finding where and when all this happened. I guess the "Don't snitch" ethos doesn't extend to posting video evidence...

JacqueMehoff

it was on CW11 news, the guy used an iphone to film the incident. that's all I know, so he did come forward.

I think he said it was all over one guy laughing at another guy.

whitecastlerock

The minute you swipe that metro card you are on your own. The MTA doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone's safety-ride at your own risk. It is laughable that anyone expects the lazy pieces of unionized shitbags to lift a finger and or report the incident-why would they? Their jobs are so mind numbing that a little fisticuffs helped them get through their night. Ask them to endure a salary freeze and these fucking scumbags will leap into action in no time.

blink

I think the train crew was watching the fight and cheering the brother on. They never root against their own kind a la OJ.

Guest

"They never root against their own kind a la OJ."

that incident still nudges me a little to this day. no one has officially said that the cheering was wrong, or come out to apologize about the cheering. it tells me that some people are just covering for their own asses.

use_your_noodle

If the conductor saw what was happening on the platform how did he know if there wasn't even more trouble inside the train?

on the 5:47 comment - You were there? You know the conductor was black?

Why not assume he was Irish and he was blinded while shedding a sentimental tear because it reminded him of Christmas at home?

dgeee

If the conductor was Irish he would have probably stopped the fight or called the police or both. And when was the last time a politically correct twat like yourself saw an Irish conductor in the past 8 years? No whites allowed in the union any longer. So get a clue.

mmcwilli

if this were an irish fight there would have been some punches landed. anyone with the slightest amount of skill would have ended that fight in 10 seconds

resa

Ha ha.

mslioness

Now, that's what I call reliable train safety.

What I don't understand is why no one pushed the emergency button. Why would anyone stand to watch-just watch!- this stupid circus show?

Pair of irrational animals!

MrManhattan

They weren't just "standing and watching", they were recording it on their phones!

jaycjay

Nobody pushed the... what, now?

paperbackwriter

Well, that settles it. Clearly those are dummies cameras at all the train stations in the city. High-tech makeup mirrors for those lucky enough to be inside the closed look of the monitors and the cameras. Which, coincidentally, you'd need after stopping a fight with your face.

Tower18

The train crew couldn't move the train because the passengers were holding the doors. Now, that doesn't address WHY the passengers were holding the doors (multiple passengers were holding multiple doors in the video), or why the train crew didn't call dispatch/police.

I can't figure out...once the fighting people got off the train (were pushed off, actually), why was anyone holding the doors? I'd be like "good they're gone, close the fucking doors and get out of here."