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Terror ride on the Red Line as man attacks other passengers with fists, feet and a metal bottle, police say
By adamg on Thu, 07/14/2022 - 1:12pm
Transit Police report arresting a Dorchester man on charges he turned an afternoon Red Line ride from Ashmont to JFK/UMass into ride for hell for other passengers, at least four of whom they say he punched, kicked and chucked a metal bottle at them.
Police say officers who met an inbound Red Line train at JFK around 3:30 p.m. yesterday were told by riders:
A male, later identified as Eugene Wright, 42, of Dorchester was threatening and then ultimately physically assaulting other passengers by striking them with closed fists, kicking them and throwing a metal bottle. The attack was unprovoked.
Police say passengers then pointed out Wright, now standing on the opposite platform.
Wright was arrested and charged with two different types of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon - shod foot and bottle - assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Police add that Wright already had a warrant out for his arrest from Boston Municipal Court for assault and battery for another incident.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
The worst decision the MBTA ever made...
...was eliminating staffing at track level at each station, way back when they stop selling tokens. If you had a violent nutcase on your train and could hold out till the next stop, there would be someone there to provide or call for help. Nowadays, the stations are mostly unattended, like deserted, rat-infested hellscapes, especially at off-peak times. And often you'll have an unhinged or substance-challenged person along for the ride on the trains themselves.
Meanwhile, the MBTA has their very own police force costing us millions of dollars. They should post an armed officer at each station, or at least the most dangerous ones, and on as many trains as possible. When was the last time you saw a uniformed officer in a station or on a train? Might not have much deterrence value, but maybe riders would get a little more security and peace of mind.
Or heck, let's just spend billions on a shiny new fare collection system instead. Thanks, Governor.
Funny thing about T police...
I am a daily T rider and I never see T police in the stations or on trains. Ever. Yet I have seen them on the streets, and usually not all that near to T stations. What exactly do these people do?
The only encounter I've had with them...
...was back in college, early '80s, when my goofball roommates jumped the turnstiles at North Station after a Bruins game and immediately got tackled, arrested, and charged for fare evasion by MBTA police. It was a different time :-)
Too many stations for that
You think we are spending a lot on MBTA police? Try putting one at each station; you'd need to hire a lot more officers.
Thinking back to the "good old days", I don't recall the token vending employees being a source of security or comfort. They basically sat in their locked booth and doled out tokens.
It seems like the cops were alerted to this guy and showed up in a timely manner. Are things perfect? No. Is this a good example of MBTA hell-scape? Not really.
Try Symphony Station at 6:00 AM
A civilian employee in the booth with a "hotline" connection to the MBTA cops would be a comfort, especially with all the senior citizens who live nearby and often use the E Line for trips to the Longwood Medical Center.
And while the token sellers were unlike to burst out of the locked booths and tackle a miscreant, like I said, "...there would be someone there to provide or call for help... "
Ambassadors
There are currently 68 stations covered by the red shirt ambassadors and they want to expand to 30 more stations (but they are balking at the contract bids), so it's not like every station is just devoid of any MBTA employee presence. I love the red shirt ambassadors though and would like to see more of them for all the services they provide new riders especially.
The ambassadors are great!
But if I understand correctly, they're there for information and good-will, not security. I don't think their presence would deter any misbehavior, nor would I expect them to intervene other than to call for law enforcement if they spotted a problem.
How old are you?
I've been riding the T for close to 50 years, and I used this particular station back when there was only a platform for Ashmont trains. All that time, I've never seen staff assigned to "track level" except at Park Street, and at that only on the Green Line westbound. In the case of this station, when I first starting using it there was a booth by Columbia Road and another one on the other side, but they were not on the platform. Weird fact- the mother of the dean of discipline at my high school staffed the booth at the station. Suffice to say, word could get back to campus. Didn't stop the guy who was selling drugs on the platform (not a student.)
Been riding since 1979..
...mostly Green Line, where I think all of the stations had staffed token booths underground at track level. In fact, most of them are still there. I can't speak for the other lines, but I think that was pretty standard placement back in the day.
I'll give you a bit
Except that Kenmore, Auditorium, Prudential, Arlington, Government Center, and I believe Science Park didn't have staff on the same level as the platforms. North Station on the Green Line was an odd bird, as there were 2 parts to the Green Line side amongst other issues with the elevated section.
You don't have to "hold out till the next stop."
Practically everyone has a smart/dumbphone and cell service generally works on the T. You can call (or text!) 911 and have help on the way even before you reach the next station.
You think "unhinged or substance-challenged person[s]" on the T are a problem now? Just make it free and see what happens.
They absolutely do NOT show
They absolutely do NOT show up at the next station