NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A man wielding a wooden paddle barricaded himself in the operator cab of a subway train—one of three chaotic incidents that halted service in the subway on Wednesday, police and union officials said.
“These incidents highlight the mental illness crisis in the subway, and the need for increased mental health services and uniformed police officers down there,” public transit union TWU Local 100 said in a statement, adding that more resources are needed to address “the worsening situation.”
The 31-year-old man remained barricaded in the cab for about 90 minutes at the Broad Street station in lower Manhattan, causing major delays on the J line after 9 a.m., the union said and police confirmed on Thursday.
The episode halted service between the Broad Street and Chamber Street stations as the MTA cut power to the tracks, according to officials.
The man was eventually taken into custody by the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit, police said. He was hauled away on a stretcher while ranting and taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to police.
About an hour later around 10:20 a.m., an unhinged man banged on the train operator’s door of a 4 train at the Crown Heights–Utica Avenue station before jumping between two cars and fleeing when cops arrived, police said.
Then around 12:50 p.m., a rider kicked out two windows on a D train near the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station in Brooklyn and jumped onto the roadbed, according to police. Service was disrupted for about 40 minutes.
In a statement, the MTA said: "Three incidents in less than four hours involving people threatening harm to NYCT employees is a stark reminder of why the City needs to surge essential mental health services and police officers ASAP."
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