Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg admitted that he also gets scared over crime in New York City subways amid public concern.
The remarks were made during an interview on Tuesday when asked about the perception of many residents that the city was experiencing a massive rise in crime rate. He said he was aware that while transit crime was down, he was still fearful when one of his family members got on the train.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Talks About Crime
Bragg's statement appeared to reference the latest New York Police Department data showing that major crime in the city's subway system dropped by 4.6% in the first six months this year compared to last year.
However, just last month, transit crime was found to have spiked more than 18%, with authorities seeing 195 incidents compared to the 165 throughout June. Among these incidents was a series of subway slashings where an alleged maniac, 28-year-old Kemal Rideout, attacked three women over 20 minutes on June 18 in Manhattan, as per the New York Post.
Officials said that violence also broke out on a Brooklyn-bound J train on June 13, where a 20-year-old straphanger, identified as Jordan Williams, fatally stabbed an ex-con, Devictor Ouedraogo, during a confrontation.
Authorities eventually dropped the murder charges against Williams after a grand jury found that he simply acted in self-defense. This was because the fatality, Ouedraogo, choked him and slugged his girlfriend just a few moments before the incident.
However, Bragg noted that there were "encouraging signs" that crime data across the city were now "moving in the right direction." New York City saw an overall drop of 4% in citywide crime last month, based on statistics from the NYPD. This comes despite a 23% rise in car thefts and the same rate of felony assaults as last year.
In a statement, the Manhattan District Attorney said they were doing several long-term investigations involving wiretaps. He added that they were conducting targeted enforcement and seeing the effects of that investigative work, according to Fox5 NY.
Crime Rate in NYC Subways
Many residents had daily experiences play a bigger role in how they perceived crime in the area than just statistics. One building super was seen painting graffiti near the front entrance. When asked, the resident said he believed that the region's crime was out of control.
However, one of the most high-profile incidents was the case of 30-year-old Jordan Neely, who died after being put in a chokehold by 24-year-old Daniel Penny, a former marine. The letter allegedly did the maneuver after the former threatened passengers, claiming that he acted in self-defense.
During interviews following the incident, Penny claimed that Neely had ripped off his jacket and threatened to kill subway passengers. He said that the Black man appeared to be on drugs then.
The ex-marine noted that before the incident, he listened to music but took his headphones off when he heard Neely screaming in what he determined was a "scary situation," said the Daily Mail.
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