At least 18 people were arrested as New Yorkers flooded the Sutter Avenue L train station in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Tuesday, just two days after officers said they had opened fire at an alleged fare evader there.
Tuesday’s protest was promoted in part by Swipe It Forward, a campaign advocating for universal transportation. Plans for the demonstration, including a flier featuring an activist holding something resembling a mutilated pig, were shared on social media. Protesters distributed MetroCards and swiped commuters through the turnstiles as the crowd grew steadily throughout the evening. Crowds later marched through Brownsville, chanting in unison.
Demonstrators filled the station on Tuesday evening, with crowds joining together in chants against the police department.
Kemora Hendi, who lives nearby, expressed concerns for her and her infant son’s safety.
"Before, I never wanted to take the train. But now, I just don't want to take the train at all,” she said. “And I don't. I just take buses."
Maxine Salter, who spent more than an hour at the protest, expressed outrage over the shooting.
“Where is Mayor Adams?” she shouted towards police officers outside the station. “He ain’t out here!”
The protest followed the announcement by prosecutors of plans to file charges against 37-year-old Derell Mickles, who was in stable condition as of Tuesday after being shot multiple times by police, authorities said.
The shooting occurred on Sunday afternoon, when Mickles allegedly entered the train station without paying the fare, according to officials. When confronted by police, the NYPD claimed Mickles advanced on them with a knife, which they said has since gone missing from the crime scene. An officer and two bystanders – a 49-year-old man and 26-year-old woman – were also injured, authorities said.
Officials said the police officer and the woman were also in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon. The 49-year-old man, who officers shot in the head, was still in critical condition, authorities said.
Of the 18 people arrested Tuesday, 17 were given summonses and one was given a desk appearance ticket, meaning they had to appear in court, for alleged possession of a controlled substance and disorderly conduct.
A crowd confronts a police officer on the steps of the Sutter Avenue subway station in Brooklyn during a rally on Sept. 17, 2024.
Police experts have indicated that the justification for the shooting will depend on whether the officers reasonably believed they or the public were in imminent danger of being harmed. According to the NYPD, they opened fire after failing to subdue Mickles with a Taser — a device that has failed roughly 40% of the time since its introduction, according to department data.
Tyrik Coleman, a local resident, criticized the police response.
"A lot of people were traumatized, especially civilians that want to take the train,” he told Gothamist. “You expect to take the train and go from point A to point B and then you can lose your life just like that because of somebody that's supposed to be a professional who don't got the proper training and is negligent with their firearm. It's not fair."
The mayor’s office declined to comment on the protest but referred to Mayor Eric Adams' earlier remarks praising the NYPD.
“I think that those officers should be commended for how they really showed a great level of restraint,” Adams said. “It's just unfortunate that innocent people were shot because of that.”
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.
This story has been updated with the number of arrests from Tuesday's protest and to clarify the legal standard for police use of deadly force.
