You can’t ride a subway or bus in New York City without seeing a sign proclaiming, “If you see something, say something”. Now, it would appear that Metropolitan Transit Authory’s slogan — which popped up in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center — is being slightly revised with regards to its employees who are now being told “If you see something, say something… but don’t get involved.”
In one of the most heinous and disturbing decisions in recent memory, a Queens judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a woman who was raped in plain sight of at least two MTA employees, each of whom contacted the police but failed to take any further action to intervene on her behalf.
After being dragged kicking and screaming past station agent John Koort, who remained in the token booth, and train conductor Harmodio Cruz, who did not stop the train or abandon his post, the 21-year-old victim was raped. Twice.
Her attacker was not caught.
Crowded? Yup, but there's safety in numbers.
Justice Kevin Kerrigan deemed that the men took “prompt and decisive action” in summoning the police, a decision the victim correctly labeled as “deplorable”. As she and her attorney plan their appeal, one can’t help but wonder if a female judge would have handed down the same ruling. The cowardice of the men in question would also seem to prove we haven’t come all that far since that infamous night in 1964 when Queens resident Kitty Genovese was fatally attacked as nearby neighbors ignored her cries for help.
Perhaps more disheartening than Kerrigan’s actual ruling is what it says about human nature and the inevitable questions it raises about how we would react if put in the same situation. Could you stand by as a man brutally attacked another human being? Would you be brave enough to intervene, even it meant putting your own safety on the line?
Equally disturbing is what this ruling says to New York City residents who rely on the subway station, many of whom no doubt assume that they are relatively safe riding the rails late at night as long as they remain within sight of the MTA employee safely-ensconced in the nearby booth.
Think again.
In the past, when budget cuts have resulted in the closing of token booths, citizens in the impacted areas have often voiced concerns about the stations in question being less safe as a result. Unfortunately, it seems that with the blessing of both the MTA and the legal system, they weren’t exactly safe to begin with.
A Rapist's Eye View Of The NYC Transit System
