On the way to work this morning...

"Man, if I had known I would have beat his ass."

FROM THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY...on my way home from work the other day I witnessed a near incident. When the F train pulled into the Delancy/Essex Streets station it was unusually crowded, even for a PM rushhour. I got in the train at the second set of doors. To my left, near the first set of doors, I could hear some yelling and what appeared to be a small scuffle. Keep in mind the train was packed. "Just someone trying to push their way off of the train," I thought to myself, "just look down and ignore it." But it continued, and I became curious. The shouting was getting louder and it was coming from more than one person now. I looked over to see a tall Asian man in his mid-20s who looked pissed (and annoyed) and was swinging at someone/something. Then I noticed a very perppie looking short guy trying to squirm his way out of the train, get violently pushed, and then walk down the platform, just as the doors closed and the train began to move.
"He was trying to take your wallet."
"That dude was gonna rob you."
"Yes, Yes, I saw him."
"What was he doing? Oh my."
"He had your wallet, I saw him. You stopped him."
I could hear all of this coming from the near end of the train. The victim was silent and still looked annoyed and pissed. And then I heard a middle-aged black woman who was about 8 feet from the victim say, rather loudly, "He was trying to pickpocket you? Man, I wish I saw him. I wish he was still here. Man, if I had known I would have beat his ass."
Sometimes civilian mobs may be the best form of crime prevention.

posted by NYJustice @ 11:28 AM