Suspected Groper Shot In Butt During Tussle With Off-Duty Cop

via NBC

Yesterday, an off-duty cop shot an ex-con with a long rap sheet during a confrontation at a Harlem subway station after two teenager girls accused him of groping them. Jacob Sanford, 22, is accused of groping the two teens on their buttocks in the subway station at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue around noon yesterday. And in the ensuing struggle with the off-duty officer who arrested him, Sanford was himself shot in the butt.

Police say that the 40-year-old officer, who hasn't been named yet, was waiting on the northbound D line platform of the station when an 18-year-old girl yelled that she had just been groped on the mezzanine level. Then a 13-year-old girl also started yelling, “Mommy, the man groped me!”—the girl’s mother shouted “Police!” at a station agent standing nearby. Police added that at some point, a witness yelled, “You pervert, why don’t you grab someone your own age!”

While the mother called 911, the 18-year-old pointed out the nearby Sanford, who was sitting on a bench between the uptown C and D tracks, to the off-duty cop. The cop identified himself and ordered Sanford to the floor; witnesses told police that they then saw Sanford pick up the officer as if he was going to flip or body-slam him, and heard him shout "police—get down" before the shot was fired.

Sanford, from the Bronx, was taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition. Police said he has 19 unsealed prior arrests, including two separate arrestes for felony assaults on police officers and arrests for robbery, menacing, and reckless endangering. He has been charged on multiple counts of forcible touching, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Subway riders told NY1 that Sanford was asking for trouble: "He shouldn't have gotten shot, but at the same time they should know not to go around doing things like that. It’s horrible. There's children on the train and they’re going around doing these things," one straphanger said. Another person was even less sympathetic: "Stop groping people. Who are you to go around groping someone? How dare you, [it's the] holidays and you want to go around groping people. Get a life, get over it."

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

By Ben Yakas in News on December 10, 2011 11:10 AM

Comments [rss]

Adam Moreira

I'm trying to figure out why the heck he would do it at THAT station of all stations, which teems with cops.

3rdStrike

"And in the ensuing struggle with the off-duty officer who arrested him, Sanford was himself shot in the butt"

I'm okay with this.

ciaobella2

I'm hardly condoning groping but why are off-duty cops shooting people on the subway? Weren't there other civilians on the platform? This dude was a felon, but how did this off-duty cop know that? What happened to trial by jury? I got stuck on an uptown A train for 2 hours yesterday because of this BS. If someone falsely accused me of breaking on the law on a subway platform you better believe I'd sue this city for all it's worth if I ended up getting shot by some trigger-happy idiot who hadn't even seen me commit a crime.

ciaobella2

Look I'm hardly condoning groping

ohgodkillmenow

"why don’t you grab someone your own age!"

Such a well thought out sentiment.

jisnotused

lol i was gonna say... I don't think the logic works in situations like these.

RobertMosesSupposesErroneously

I feel great riding the subway everyday knowing I could be sitting next to a guy with "19 unsealed prior arrests, including two separate arrestes for felony assaults on police officers and arrests for robbery, menacing, and reckless endangering"....

Gothamistriss

Our only solace is hoping the guy sitting on the other side is a police officer

69GeorgeWBush69

"Get a life, get over it." It's pretty obvious that with this guy's rap sheet, he is unable to do either of those things. With two prior felony assaults against police officers, this guy should be in jail for life.

Gwinny

...and this is why it took me nearly 90 minutes to get home from Midtown last night, as my D train repeatedly crawled and stopped from 59 to 125. I almost missed my own birthday dinner! And this was 6 hours after the incident happened (when we got to 125 there was no evidence of an investigation)... so seriously, WTF?

bobbyjfromtheuk12

WTF? It's your birthday, get out and get a cab for Christ sake you cheap ass!

Adam Moreira

That's NYC's longest express run. You cannot get off.

What @Gwinny:disqus is saying might be bad communication on the part of the MTA, which should have told riders to use the 1, 2, 3, or M10 as alternatives.

Gwinny

yes, that's part of it... also, the train was running fine until 59th street so there weren't any warnings that way either (the only subway transfer that would've worked at that point is the 1 train).

Gwinny

Guess what -- there is NO WAY to get out between 59 and 125th once you are on the express track -- otherwise I would've!! Freaking moron.

ButtPlugs

the 125th Station is the ABCD line. Good shit.

swampyankeesmom

the cop shot the wrong end.
19 priors? is this his last? i doubt it.

edgie168

I used to be a groper like you, then I took a bullet in the ass.

dis_sho_am_good

Hahaha well played! Consuming my life!

neuroradical

Wait, Sanford identified himself and told the cop to lay on the floor? Sounds kinky... or something

Mr Mel

" an 18-year-old girl yelled that she had just been groped on the mezzanine level"

I am trying to find the female "mezzanine level" in Gray's Anatomy.