They should be fighting crime, not engaging in it.
According to authorities, three unarmed private security guards employed by the MTA to stop fare-beating and maintain the safety of the subways were detained after allegedly assaulting a 20-year-old straphanger on Wednesday at the 14th Street-Union Square station.
According to MTA and NYPD sources, the guards, who work for a company founded by a high-ranking adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, got into the altercation when they informed the Long Island man that he could not leave the station through an emergency gate.
One of the guards, Shamasia Maddox, 26, reportedly smacked the straphanger’s phone out of his hands and into the ground as he began to video them.
The man was subsequently beaten by her two male counterparts, Kenneth Cole, 27, and Rawshod Caesar, 24, according to police, who spoke to The Washington Post.
The assault, which was caught on tape by MTA security cameras, left the victim with facial lacerations, according to police sources.
Two of the guards were immediately detained by police, who charged them with disorderly conduct, assault, and harassment, according to sources.
According to an NYPD spokeswoman, the third person, Maddox, fled the scene but was later apprehended and charged with assault, disorderly conduct, harassment, and criminal mischief.
Since the summer, the MTA has employed unarmed security contractors to police subway emergency gates, and it is currently expanding the program to new stations.
According to NYPD statistics, homicides underground have increased dramatically while victims of felony crimes are more likely to be straphangers since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In addition to preventing passengers from utilizing open gates to avoid paying the cost, according to officials, the guards also prevent criminals from ever entering the underground.
According to MTA CEO Janno Lieber, “the criminals are overwhelmingly fare evaders, so if we do a reasonable job of discouraging fee evasion and catching those who are engaged in it, we’re going to catch a lot of criminals.”
They were all issued desk appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in court on January 17.
Cole, Caesar, or their employer City Safe Partners could not be reached for comment on Thursday, despite The Post’s best efforts.
Both will no longer be employed by the MTA in the future, a spokeswoman for the agency announced in a statement.
The subcontractor that employs the guards has promised that those allegedly implicated would not be allocated work at MTA facilities, according to MTA Chief of External Relations John McCarthy. “The MTA is collaborating with the NYPD in its inquiry,” McCarthy added.
»MTA-hired guards arrested for subway beating«