Union Seeks Public’s Help in Unsolved Assault Cases

IB ImageWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8 -- TWU Local 100 has created its own “Most Wanted” poster with photos of suspects wanted by the Police for attacking transit workers. Union staff and members began distributing the poster – with photographs of suspects – to riders and members today, Wednesday, Aug. 8. The poster features the phone number for the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline. Callers can remain anonymous.
 
“We want justice for our assaulted TWU Local 100 members,” President Tony Utano said. “The people responsible for these attacks need to be arrested and prosecuted.” Utano said he hopes that the Most Wanted poster not only leads to arrests but also deters others from attacking a transit worker in the future. “TWU Local 100 is fighting back,” Utano said. “If you attack one of us, we’re now going to come after you. We’re going to help the Police identify you and arrest you.”
 
IB ImageLocal 100 handed out approximately 1,000 copies of the Most Wanted poster at the Dyer Ave. subway station in the Bronx and nearby bus stops. A Liberty Lines Bus Operator was beaten on his bus near the station in August 2017. The culprit remains at large. Another 1,000 of the Most Wanted flyers were distributed at the Prospect Park subway station in Brooklyn where a Q-train Conductor was struck in the head with a fist or blunt object last month. Distribution of the poster will continue periodically, Utano said. 
 
“It’s a good idea,” Denver Thompson, the Liberty Lines Bus Operator attacked in August 2017, said. “Anything that sheds some light on what we face on the job is a good thing.” The cases described on the poster are the only ones with photographs of suspects that the NYPD has released.