NEW YORK - Crime in the New York City subway system is not only a problem for commuters, it is also putting NYPD officers in danger.
The police union that represents nearly 50,000 active and retired NYPD officers tweeted a shocking video showing a 16-year-old boy brutally beating officers after they confronted him for allegedly jumping the turnstile.
A New York City teen seen in a bloody brawl with NYPD officers on a subway platform over the weekend has already been released from custody, according to police union leaders.
Two officers witnessed a pair of 16-year-olds, one male and one female, go through a Manhattan turnstile without paying, police said. They did not identify the juvenile suspects.
Officers followed and asked them to leave.
"The 16-year-old male became verbally aggressive for over three minutes with officers," an NYPD spokesperson said. "The officers attempted to take the 16-year-old male into custody when he began to assault the officers."
A 54-second video shows part of the ensuing brawl, in which the suspect throws more than a dozen punches, body slams the officer into a grate and places him in a chokehold. The female suspect can also be seen fighting with a female officer in the background.
Video shows the male suspect with blood on his face, and police said the officer suffered swelling on his head and shoulder. Both officers were treated at New York University Hospital and released.
The fight happened at the 125 Street and Lexington Avenue station around 6 p.m. on Saturday, police said.
Both teens face a count each of second-degree assault on a police officer and other charges.
But the teen seen with his arm wrapped around an officer’s neck has already been freed under the state’s bail reform laws, according to the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York.
"If New Yorkers want to know why the chaos in the transit system is not improving more quickly — this is why," PBA President Patrick Lynch said in a statement. "The criminals underground know they can get in a brawl, choke a cop and be back out in hours. Cops are putting ourselves on the line to make the subways safer, but we are feeling abandoned by a justice system that won’t back us up."