There’s a video going viral shot Tuesday morning showing unmasked NYPD officers shoving a masked passenger out of a station’s emergency exit after the passenger asked the cops to put masks on and comply with the city’s mandate.
WATCH:
#NYC #NYPD harassing this subway rider for having the nerve to ask them to put on masks! #notabovethelaw@NYCMayor pic.twitter.com/iEK8qKh0MF
— ekki spyrja mig að því (@toriahall) October 19, 2021
The officers were later identified as Joseph Vincent and Grace Rosero Tapia:
The officers — who the rider identified by their badge numbers as Joseph Vincent and Grace Rosero Tapia — shoved the straphanger out the station’s emergency gate after he said he repeatedly asked them why they weren’t wearing masks. https://t.co/gfoCCaM0oU
— Clayton Guse (@ClaytonGuse) October 19, 2021
The NYPD is investigating:
The NYPD is investigating internally after video shows an unmasked police officer pushing a masked commuter out of a subway station. (1/2) @CBSNewYork https://t.co/vrjiFAt7nX pic.twitter.com/4L5Q6FKsop
— Ali Bauman (@AliBaumanTV) October 20, 2021
And Mayor Bill de Blasio added that he was “troubled” by what he saw:
“I saw one of the videos of a couple of officers removing someone from the subway. I was troubled,” de Blasio says. “There’s an investigation underway.”
— Amanda Eisenberg (@aeis17) October 20, 2021
The passenger, Andy Gilbert, said to reporters after the altercations that the “male officer was playing dumb and claimed he couldn’t hear me”:
"The male officer was playing dumb and claimed he couldn't hear me," the man said. https://t.co/g8k9lxeAHY
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) October 20, 2021
According to Gilbert, the officer told him “if you’re not going to ride the train, you can get out”:
NYPD police have been criticised for pushing passenger Andy Gilbert off the subway after he told them off for not wearing facemasks.
“I kept asking 'why aren’t you wearing a mask?' He said, if you’re not going to ride the train, you can get out," he said. pic.twitter.com/ECNpqTr7AU
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) October 20, 2021
Now we wait to see what the NYPD decides to do:
Not only does violate NYPD regs, not only does this violate MTA rules, but this looks a whole lot like assault. https://t.co/USeFvwcmcJ
— 🎃Pumpkin Spy-ce Latte👻 (@FoxCahn) October 20, 2021
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