Subway Motorman Attacked in Manhattan: Police

A 45-year-old motorman on a northbound J train was hit in the face by a man who fled the Manhattan subway station after the attack Saturday, police say.

The Daily News says two other attacks on MTA employees were reported that day -- a second at the Essex Street Station where the 45-year-old was attacked and a third at the Euclid Avenue Stop in East New York -- but the NYPD says the one involving the 45-year-old victim was the only one reported to authorities.

The MTA condemned the attacks, calling them disturbing and affirming the agency's commitment to the safety of its workers.

"An assault on our employees is an attack on all of us," the agency said in a statement. "We will continue to work with the NYPD to track down these individuals and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

Kevin Harrington, a vice president representing train operators with TWU Local 100, called for an increased police presence in the subway.

"The police need to protect transit workers, the district attorneys have to stop making excuses for not enforcing the law that increases penalties for assaults on transit workers, and the subway homeless problem has to be dealt with, subways are not homeless shelters," Harrington said in a statement. “Transit workers have to be able to do their jobs without the fear of being attacked or spat on. Whenever a transit worker is assaulted passengers are often placed in danger."
 

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