A Brooklyn public school dean said Wednesday he was brutally assaulted by MTA fare inspectors last week after he got off a bus on his way to work.<\/p>\n
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy in Brownsville, said members of the MTA\u2019s EAGLE fare enforcement unit stopped him on a B14 bus at Rockaway and Pitkin avenues around 6:40 a.m. on Oct. 6, demanding he prove he paid his fare. He said he had paid through a paper transfer ticket, which bus drivers have sometimes given to workers.<\/p>\n
Taylor said that as he walked past the agents to exit the bus, he was stopped by more fare inspectors who were waiting on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Video footage from a nearby shop shared by Taylor\u2019s attorney appears to show Taylor struggling with the agents as they grabbed him and pinned him against the bus. The footage shows the EAGLE team members slamming him against a bus shelter and knocking him to the ground until an NYPD officer came in to break up the commotion.<\/p>\n
Taylor said he sat on a shelter bench and passed out for three minutes. He was taken from the scene to the hospital in an ambulance, the video shows, and Taylor said he injured his back, neck, shoulder, arm and elbow. He has not been able to return to work since and said he’s now afraid of going on buses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in pain. I can\u2019t sleep at night,\u201d Taylor said Wednesday. \u201cEvery time I see someone that\u2019s wearing a badge, it\u2019s disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n
A summary of the NYPD complaint filed by an EAGLE officer alleges Taylor \u201cfell out of the bus\u201d and refused medical attention, an account contradicted by the video footage.<\/p>\n
Taylor plans to sue the MTA. Representatives for the transit agency declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.<\/p>\n
The episode came as the MTA has launched an increasingly aggressive crackdown on riders who skip the fare on buses. Transit officials estimate nearly half of all the bus riders in the city don\u2019t pay, which costs the agency upwards of $300 million annually.<\/p>\n
The MTA reported fare evasion on buses increased during the first six months of 2026, when Mayor Zohran Mamdani entered office following a campaign pledge to make buses \u201cfast and free.\u201d<\/p>\n
MTA Chair Janno Lieber in July said he planned to ramp up enforcement of fare evasion on buses, saying EAGLE team members could use special devices to check whether people paid their fares with OMNY. He noted OMNY was the only way to pay after the agency stopped accepting payments via MetroCards in June.<\/p>\n
Lieber has for years said he wanted to avoid racial discrimination as he cracked down on fare evasion.<\/p>\n