Overview
- The MTA halted all EAGLE team bus enforcement and temporarily reassigned the employees involved while it investigates two videoed confrontations.
- Progressive members of the City Council urged permanent elimination of the EAGLE teams in a statement issued Tuesday, citing violent encounters and disproportionate deployment in low-income neighborhoods.
- One incident footage shows a Bronx scuffle from August in which a rider was thrown to the ground and restrained, and a separate Oct. 6 Brooklyn case involves school aide Kyle Taylor, who alleges he was assaulted and has sued the MTA.
- MTA leaders including Transit President Demetrius Crichlow say the agency will keep unarmed fare inspectors but must improve training and incident reporting before resuming bus deployments.
- The agency faces a policy trade-off between accountability and revenue protection because it estimates roughly $300 million a year lost to fare evasion and plans a proof-of-payment system that relies on unarmed inspectors.