The world upside down. A video showing the violent eviction of a passenger from a New York subway platform, pushed by two policemen whom he had asked to wear a mask, has provoked perplexity and abundant criticism in the city. The young man, with the mandatory mask of federal ordinances, had asked the agents why they were going bare-faced and they, in response, began beating him. Ads about the mandatory nature of the mask as a preventive measure for covid-19 are ubiquitous throughout suburban New York, but compliance remains at 90%, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA, in its English acronym). The two officers face disciplinary action, albeit minor.
The young man, Andrew Gilbert, appears in the video shouting for the identification number plate to the policemen, as they shove him out of an emergency exit of a subway station in Manhattan. None of the agents, a man and a woman, identify themselves and instead they yell at Gilbert for his “problematic behavior.” “The police were very unpleasant,” said Victoria, the passenger who began recording the incident with her mobile when she saw that the police “were getting very aggressive.”
“Absolutely unforgivable,” said the head of the New York Police Department, Dermot Shea, who noted however that the two employees will not be fired, only sanctioned. The punishment could consist of the loss of up to 10 days of vacation, according to sources from the department explained to the newspaper. The New York Post. To make matters worse, the Police Department prescribes the use of a mask, regardless of the vaccination status of its workers. The two agents are part of an additional deployment of a thousand troops to respond to the rise in some crimes in the suburban, such as assaults, which have increased by 35% compared to 2020. It is assumed that the statistics do not include assaults on passengers by law enforcement agencies.
Paradoxically, the law allows agents to impose fines of 50 dollars on subway users who do not comply with the hygienic-sanitary measure. Very few have been imposed, according to the MTA registry. You just have to travel, at any time of the day, on any of the lines of the old New York subway, to appreciate the impunity: there is always a passenger without a mask; many times, several in a single car, coughing or sneezing without modesty.
Mandatory vaccination for municipal employees
The mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced this Wednesday that by October 29 all municipal workers – including those on the front line, such as firefighters and policemen – must have been vaccinated with at least one dose. Until now, the mandatory vaccination could be replaced by weekly coronavirus tests. As an incentive, officials will receive a bonus of $ 500 on their payroll after the first puncture at a municipal vaccination center. Those who refuse to do so will be discharged, without pay, until they show proof of vaccination to their supervisors. “The privilege of serving the citizens of New York comes with a responsibility to keep them safe,” De Blasio said.
The councilman, who is living his last weeks as the highest authority in the city – elections are held on November 2 to choose his replacement -, was horrified, without words, after seeing the video of the police attack in the subway. “There is an investigation underway, and I hope that disciplinary measures will be taken in this case, because it is obvious that the agents were not wearing the mask,” said the mayor, who did not allude to the abusive behavior of the law enforcement officers.
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