The city’s crackdown on fare evasion turned bloody on Sunday afternoon when four people — including an NYPD officer — were shot by police officers responding to a man who allegedly skipped the turnstile in a neighborhood where many people can’t afford basic needs, much less the cost to ride the train every day.
Police said the mayhem began after 37-year-old Derrell Mickles skipped the fare at the Sutter Avenue L train station in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and avoided officers as he walked toward the platform. NYPD officials said he threatened the officers, who responded by firing their Tasers. Officials said the Tasers did not work and Mickles then pulled out a knife, which led to the officers firing their guns.
The surrounding community was shaken by the violence on Monday morning, and dozens of locals turned away from the station after they saw police standing near the turnstiles. Census data suggests that Brownsville residents have a hard time paying for the subway, with the neighborhood’s poverty rate at 39%, the highest in the city, according to NYU’s Furman Center .