NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Police officers removed a Brooklyn couple from a New York City ferry in handcuffs on Saturday night after they refused to wear face coverings and began verbally abusing crew members and fellow passengers, according to police and a report.
A NYC Ferry captain told the married couple from Bay Ridge they had to leave the top deck of a ferry docked at Brooklyn Bridge Park around 8 p.m. on Saturday because they weren't wearing masks, Gothamist reported.
But the 53-year-old man and the 37-year-old woman refused to disembark for more than an hour, saying they both had medical conditions that prevented them from wearing face coverings, the outlet reported.
“If we were f---ing Black, I can guarantee you that guy would never come out and tell us, ‘put a mask on,’” the woman told a Gothamist reporter who filmed the incident.
The woman’s husband claimed the ferry’s captain was “shaming” them.
“He’s shaming us,” he said. “Because we can’t wear a mask, we’re being discriminated against.”
NYC Ferry passengers are required to wear face coverings, unless they have a medical condition that keeps them from doing so, per Gov. Andrew Cuomo's COVID-19 executive orders.
The ferry's crew called police after the couple started verbally abusing crew members and other passengers, a NYC Ferry representative said Sunday. NYPD officers who arrived at the scene told the couple they could leave the boat voluntarily, but they refused to do so, Gothamist reported.
The two were subsequently handcuffed and taken off the ferry, the NYPD confirmed. Both received summonses for disorderly conduct, police said.
"NYC Ferry is continuing to investigate the incident in question," the representative said. "The safety of our riders and crew is our number one priority. We sincerely thank the NYPD for their rapid response to last night’s incident and we greatly appreciate the professionalism of our crew along with the patience of our riders."