Philly cops assault man holding crying baby for not paying his $2.25 transit fare
theGrio REPORT - Several officers working for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority are under investigation after they were recorded pushing and shoving an African American man holding onto a baby for reportedly not paying his $2.25 fare.
Several officers working for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority are under investigation after they were recorded pushing and shoving an African-American man holding onto a baby for reportedly not paying his $2.25 fare.
According to WPVI, SEPTA officials are now reviewing their policies after the clip — recorded Thursday night — went viral.
In the footage, three transit police can be seen talking to a man who is seated in the car holding a very small child. After another officer arrives and handcuffs him, he is escorted off the rail car and then can be seen being shoved against the wall with the baby still in his arms.
When bystanders attempt to intervene, more than a dozen officers come down to the platform, pushing the crowd back as one man yells, “He still has his daughter in his hands!”
The baby can be heard crying in the background.
SEPTA Police Chief Tom Nestel says he was disturbed by his officers’ actions.
“I never want a child’s safety being jeopardized. This is the type of incident that causes us to reflect on what we tell our police officers and how we tell them,” he said in a statement.
