NY: NYPD Step Up Patrols On NYC Subways
(New York, NY) — Straphanger Alex Rakitin is a hero to many subway riders today. He fought back and won after a fellow rider picked a fight with him on an “N” train during the Monday morning commute. Rakitin says 34-year-old Timothy Barbee told him he was sitting to close, and after a few heated words he slugged Rakitin across the face, knocking off his glasses. Rakitin grabbed the rider, threw him to the subway car floor and then held him till cops arrived. Fellow straphangers are applauding Rakitin, a father who works in finance, for keeping everyone else on the car safe.
Timothy Barbee has been charged with assault. The attack comes as Mayor Adams lauds a drop in subway crime.
