Viral Video of NYPD Escorting Out Churros Seller in Subway Draws Outrage

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What to Know

  • The NYPD is getting more backlash after a viral video showed officers taking a woman selling churros in a subway station into custody

  • In response, the NYPD transit police say the woman was not arrested, but she was given a summons for selling food with no license

  • In October, the NYPD was also under fire after a video of officers pulling a gun on a 19-year-old fare evasion suspect went viral

The New York City Police Department is receiving more backlash about overpolicing after a video posted on Twitter showed officers taking a woman selling churros in a subway station into custody.

A bystander, Sofia Newman, recorded the unidentified woman crying as at least four NYPD officers take away her churros cart at Broadway Junction on Saturday. “They were telling her that she could either give them her churro cart and receive a fine (one that she probably wouldn’t have been able to afford), or that they would take her cart and arrest her,” Newman wrote.

In response, the NYPD transit police say the woman was not arrested, but she was given a summons for selling food in the transit system without a license.

“She’s received 10 summonses in the past 6 months- English & Spanish speaking officers spoke with her & when she refused to comply she was briefly cuffed, her property invoiced, and she was released from the Transit District,” NYPD Transit wrote on Twitter.

The video of the woman has been seen over 2.5 million times on Twitter, and with recent incidents involving cops and unnecessary, or violent, arrests, city officials and advocates are condemning the increased police presence in the subways.

“This kind of enforcement doesn’t make anyone safer,” New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer tweeted and raised questions about the hiring of 500 new transit police officers.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also echoed Stringer, saying that police can keep the subway safe “without harming people just trying to earn a living.”

Advocates, including Newman, and elected officials are expected to rally Monday and demand an end to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to hire new MTA police officers and refocus resources on other serious crimes instead of policing low-income food vendors.

In October, the NYPD was also under fire after a video of officers pulling a gun on a 19-year-old fare evasion suspect was posted on social media.

Another incident caught on camera in the same week showed an NYPD officer punching a 15-year-old in the face amid a scuffle between two groups of teens and police. 





Source : Nbcnewyork