Videos Of Teens Arrested In Brooklyn Subways Spur Outrage

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Videos of chaotic subway arrests have spurred outrage among New Yorkers who question what appears to be a brutal response from police to teenagers of color.

The two videos were taken in the Jay Street-MetroTech station in Downtown Brooklyn Saturday and the Franklin Avenue 2, 3, 4, 5 station in Crown Heights Friday, according to posters.

"What we are talking about is a population of people who are being systematically traumatized," said Elad Nehorai, 35, the activist who took the Franklin Avenue arrest, at a protest outside City Hall. "I don't think I ever really understood that until I was there and saw it for myself."

Nehorai's video shows the teen holding is hands in the air, watching police surround the subway cars before its doors open. "Call my mom," he says. Then two cops rush in and throw him to the ground as about a dozen officers surround him.

Nehorai told Patch cops actively tried to stop him documenting the encounter by blocking his view and pushing him away from the pile, but that he was not too frightened to keep filming.

"I was more scared of someone getting shot," he said.

Police first said they had received reports of a man with a gun, which was not found on the 19-year-old, but later clarified he'd run away from cops after jumping a turnstile at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station, according to NBC New York.

The video has since been seen roughly 3 million times and viewers include the New York Civil Complaint Review Board, who urged Nehorai to file a complaint, and a woman named Yolanda Sangweni who said her 10-year-old son had been on the train during the arrest.

"[He] came home inconsolable," Sangweni tweeted. "How do we, as parents, even begin to speak to them about this kind of violence?"

The arrest came about one day after another violent arrest involving teenagers, a Brooklyn subway station, and a video that has since gone viral.

Three 18-year-olds, a 16-year-old and 15-year-old were arrested after cops became embroiled in a fight at the Jay Street station about 2:20 Friday, police sources told the Daily News.

Video shows the cops throwing punches and tackling the kids to the ground as people scream and a young man shouts, "You can't do this."

The teenagers may have been assaulting a young woman and one of them sprayed pepper spray inside the station, according to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Adams is just one of growing number of elected officials calling for an investigation.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn City Council members Brad Lander and Antonio Reynoso, and hoards of activists joined Nehorai outside City Hall Monday to demand Gov. Cuomo abandon plans to bring 500 state police into the city's subway system to crack down on quality of life crimes such as fare evasion, the crime allegedly committed by the 19-year-old.

"I know you always want to top the mayor," said Williams in his address to Cuomo. "If you want to top him, fix the subways. ... Not with police."

Patch reached out to Cuomo's office to ask whether he would reconsider the new police officers and received a spokesperson's statement in reply.

“The incidents captured by video over the weekend are very disturbing and should be thoroughly investigated," said Peter Ajemian.

Reynoso argued the money was poorly invested in police officers' salaries and estimated each cop would have to catch seven turnstile jumpers per hour to justify the cost.

"These 500 cops should not be hired," Reynoso said. "I'm over it."

Lander told the crowd despite being the father of two teens who regularly take the F train to Jay Street-MetroTech and who may possibly jump turnstiles, he never fears for their safety.

“I don’t have to worry," the Brooklyn Democrat said, "because my kids are white."