NYPD Investigated For Racial Bias In Subway Fare Evasion Policing

NEW YORK CITY — The Attorney General will investigate whether increased policing in city subways has illegally targeted New Yorkers of color.

Letitia James announced on Twitter Monday that her office would investigate the NYPD and its fare evasion policing in New York City subways.

“We’ve all read the stories and seen the disturbing videos of men, women and children being harassed, dragged away and arrested by officers in our city’s subway system,” she said.

“If groups of New Yorkers have been unfairly targeted because of the color of their skin, my office will not hesitate to take legal action."

The Attorney General has penned a letter to NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea requesting fare evasion data and other information that might show if officers have exhibited racial biases, she announced.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the transit authority's controversial decision — to double down on fare evasion, dispatch a team of 500 cops to patrol 50 so-called "hotspot" subway station and bus routes, and slap farebeaters with $100 fines — has sparked outrage since it was first announced in June.

The MTA has sought to crack down on fare evasion after losing $225 million to the practice last year. Some 25 percent of bus riders and 3.9 percent of subway riders skipped the fare in the first three months of this year, landing a financial blow of $65 million, according to MTA figures.

At one such outpost — the Jay Street-Borough Hall station — 26 out of 27 fare evaders arrested this spring were people of color, spurring transit and social-justice advocates' fears that enforcement would unjustly impact Black and Brown New Yorkers.

According to the Attorney General, data shows Black and Hispanic New Yorkers received almost 90 percent of fare evasion arrests between October 2017 and June 2019, even though they only account for slightly more than half of the city’s population.

Underground resistance has since mounted, with organizers alerting straphangers of cops' locations, organizing rallies in the streets and sharing swipes with New Yorkers who need them.

A group of New York City lawmakers — including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, state Senator Julie Salazar and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams — are standing by James in support of the investigation.

“I applaud Attorney General James for investigating this important issue," said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

"For decades, law enforcement has disproportionately impacted communities of color and as we reform our criminal justice system we need to know if this practice is continuing with fare evasion.”

Update: Acting Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Devora Kaye said in response, “The NYPD’s transit officers patrol day and night to keep six million daily riders safe and enforce the law fairly and equally without consideration of race or ethnicity.”