NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Fifteen NYPD officers were attacked in the subway system last month amid a spate of transit violence, an NYPD official said Thursday.
Of the 43 felony assaults reported in the subway system in January, 15 were attacks on police officers, NYPD Transit Chief Kathleen O'Reilly said at an MTA board meeting on Thursday, the New York Post reported.
By comparison, five officers were assaulted in the subway system in January 2020, O'Reilly said.
MTA Chairman Pat Foye on Thursday once again called on the NYPD to deploy 1,500 officers into subways amid a recent rash in crime, including a stabbing spree that left two people dead.
The NYPD earlier this week deployed 644 officers into the system, but Foye on Thursday said "roughly 900 more police officers" were needed "to provide the kind of coverage and security that our customers and dedicated employees deserve," the outlet reported.
"I'll note that our request will bring us back to the level of NYPD staffing in the subways that existed in 1995, when the New York City Transit Police merged with the NYPD to form today's NYPD Transit Bureau," Foye said, according to the outlet.
