Cops on the Subway Make Us Less Safe
Summary
A straphanger has strong opinions about police presence underground, and they're pointing to a recent L train shooting where cops shot four people over $2.90. The rider argues officers don't actually prevent the chaos they witness on platforms, from track pushings to robberies. Instead, they want homeless outreach workers and mental health responders. More sanitation staff. Technicians fixing broken escalators. Five-minute trains around the clock. Someone helping the little abuela carry groceries up the stairs, someone giving tourists directions. It's a utopian wish list for the subway system, and Kareem's rider makes it clear that armed officers aren't part of that vision.
Featured guests
Full Transcript
So what's your take? Cops hanging out on the subway—make us less safe, not more safe? I'm going to have to agree with that based on the news that I've been seeing.
Like, take the situation that happened on the L train recently. You had cops shoot four people over $2.90. The cops in that situation did not make us any safe.
And the fact is, we see some crazy stuff on the subways. We have seen people get pushed onto the subway tracks, people get robbed, and some of those times cops have been on the platforms when it happened. They did not prevent it.
Why are they there? They're not the right workers. I want to see homeless outreach workers, mental health responders on the subways.
I want to see more sanitation workers. Let's keep this clean. I want to see technicians that are making sure the escalators and the elevators work.
I want to see five-minute trains, 24/7. I want to see somebody helping the little abuela up the stairs with her groceries. Like, this is Utopia.
Get somebody who is going to give tourists directions so I don't have to. 100% agree. Eric Adams or whoever's next, make it happen.