There’s nothing worse than having subway delay, especially during prime commuting hours. And to think your time is being wasted due to the inexplicable need of a subway surfer Hell bent on ruining your day? Even worse. But it appears justice will be served for the commuters who suffered at the hands of a man who for months has been pulling emergency brakes on the MTA to purposely slow down trains.
Earlier this week, police released footage of a man who pulled the emergency brakes on the No. 2 Northbound train in Chelsea. The police shared surveillance footage of the suspect hoping the public would be able to help identify him. NYPD announced in a tweet Friday that the suspect has been apprehended.
Thanks to the hard work of @NYPDDetectives & @NYPDTransit this subject is in custody!
Thank you to all our neighbors who helped. Keeping NYC the safest big city is a #sharedresponsibility. https://t.co/8gulIdMfmj
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 24, 2019
The subway surfer has been identified as 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, Isaiah Thompson. Brooklyn is where many of the 2/5 trains affected by delays have been located. Police confirmed in a tweet that the suspect is being “charged after several incidents.”
ARRESTED: 23 year-old Isaiah Thompson has been arrested and charged after several incidents where he endangered subway riders, disrupted passenger train service, and committed a lewd act https://t.co/OJMKL60jlP
— NYPD Transit (@NYPDTransit) May 24, 2019
Police are also investigating if Thompson was involved in the 700-plus train delays that have happened since February of this year. A source told the NY Post, that it’s possible that Thompson alone has pulled the brakes on 40 of these delayed trains.
They believe that it is the same criminal because the M.O. is the same. According to a source who spoke to jalopnik.com, “The suspect disrupts service primarily on the 2 and 5 lines from Flatbush Avenue in central Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan. He climbs aboard the rear of the train as it departs a station, unlocks the safety chains, somehow gets into the rear cab, and triggers the emergency brakes. Then, he disappears, most likely through the subway tunnels and out an emergency exit…”
As previously stated in an interview with Pix 11, the MTA chairman Pat Foye is concerned about copycats.
This is not Thompson’s first run-in with the law or the transit system, according to a report by ABC, he has 17 previous arrests all in the realm of reckless endangerment and assault.
Thompson is being charged for multiple incidents, including the incident that took place Tuesday. According to gothemist.com, “In addition, Thompson was also charged for an incident on May 16th, in which he allegedly stood outside the rear of a northbound B train as it was in motion near the 8th Avenue/West 14th Street station, and exposed himself to passengers on the platform. He was charged with reckless endangerment, public lewdness, and criminal trespass.”
