An on-duty MTA conductor who attempted to be a peacemaker at a Jamaica subway station was attacked for his efforts last month.
Police from the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica and Transit District 20 reported that just before midnight on Monday, May 20, the 36-year-old conductor was on the Parsons Boulevard/ArcherAvenue-Jamaica Center subway platform where he tried to break up a dispute before it escalated into violence.
As he stepped between the combatants, one of the men threw a punch that struck the conductor in the face, police said. The assailant fled the platform in an unknown direction. The conductor suffered a minor injury from the punch but refused medical attention at the scene.
The NYPD released a surveillance photo of the suspect as he came through the station’s turnstile and described him as having a dark complexion, approximately 35 to 40 years old, and 180 pounds with a slim build. He wore a blue hooded sweatshirt over a blue t-shirt, gray jeans, and a black du-rag.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest. Under the Transit Workers Assault bill that Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law at the Jamaica Bus Depot in June 2022, an assault on an MTA employee is a felony offense. If found guilty, an assailant could face up to seven years in prison.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through June 2, the 103rd Precinct has reported 296 assaults so far in 2024, 17 more than the 273 that were reported at the same point last year, an increase of 8.4%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Transit crimes are also on the rise in the precinct with 13 reported so far this year, 3 more than the 10 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 30%, according to CompStat.
