A rider advocacy group is demanding the MTA suspend its entire fare inspection program after four unarmed “EAGLE” enforcers were filmed slamming a Brooklyn school dean against a bus shelter over a disputed $3 fare.
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy in Brownsville, was hospitalized with injuries to his back, neck, shoulder, arm and elbow following the Oct. 6 confrontation on a B14 bus at Rockaway and Pitkin avenues, according to his attorney, Benjamin Pinczewski. Taylor has been unable to return to work and is now afraid to ride buses, the lawyer added.
Pinczewski said his client paid with a pretax transit card on an earlier bus, then dropped his paper transfer into the B14’s fare box, leaving him without proof of payment when inspectors demanded identification. The attorney maintains receipts exist confirming the fare was paid.
“We have the receipts,” Pinczewski said. “To treat a human being in such an inhumane way makes no sense whether it’s over a $3 fare or a $300 fare. We’re all human beings and we deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”
Video of the incident showed inspectors forcing Taylor off the bus and slamming him against a bus shelter, his clothing riding up to expose his stomach and cover his face as they held him against the glass. One inspector pressed his body against Taylor, pinning him to the shelter, while another inspector wearing a jacket with large white “MTA NYCT” lettering across the back paced nearby talking on the phone, according to the footage.
Later in the video, Taylor tried to pull free, but inspectors threw him to the sidewalk while shouting at him to “relax.”
“Why?” Taylor could be heard asking.
An NYPD officer intervened and separated him from the inspectors. Taylor filed a harassment complaint, as did one of the fare inspectors, according to police. No arrests were made.
Passengers United, the rider group now pushing for program suspension, sent a letter to Attorney General Letitia James requesting an investigation. The organization also wants to know why inspectors are not equipped with body cameras.
“There is no excuse for aggression or violence from fare inspectors,” the group said. “Conduct like this damages public trust in the MTA and does nothing to bring New Yorkers back to public transit. Bus riders deserve better.”
The group is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul and James to halt the entire program pending answers about inspectors’ training and accountability.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber acknowledged Thursday that aspects of the footage were “concerning” and said the inspectors were “on the bench” pending an investigation.
“You never want our folks to be in physical altercations with customers. It’s something we work hard to avoid,” Lieber said at an unrelated press conference.
Pinczewski said Taylor plans to sue but also wants to prevent similar incidents.
“Everyone who rides the bus should be safe from something like this happening to them,” he said.
“We’re truly moving toward a police state. The people who are just supposed to check fares think they can body slam people?” Pinczewski continued. “How do you do that over a three dollar fare?”
The unarmed EAGLE team enforcers were deployed in 2024 at bus stops and buses across New York City to combat soaring fare evasion, which costs the MTA hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Taylor was heading to work around 6:40 a.m. When the inspectors stopped him, according to Pinczewski.