New York City transit workers to get tasers?

NEW YORK

Some people are describing the proposal as ridiculous, but others see it as necessary.

"Quite a few women have gotten assaulted by male passengers, punched in the chest, spit on had coffee thrown on them, sometimes you have no defense," Richard Davis, TWU Local 100, said.

Senator Eric Adams, who came up with the idea, told me it would give subway conductors, token both agents, and bus drivers an added level of protection - a non-lethal weapon that could be used to stop people from assaulting both workers and passengers.

These are some of the 37-thousand members of Local 100, tell me if anything, a taser would serve as a visual deterrent. Last year subway workers and bus drivers were physically assaulted 94 times, up from 72 the year before.

"If the city or transit authority took it upon themselves to train us properly in the use of such a thing, it's considerable," bus driver Steve DuBose said.

Others are very uncomfortable with the concept.

"We take a beating all day long, after awhile, it will build up and things could go wrong," driver Courtney Watson said.

Tasers use electrical current to temporarily incapacitate a person and are carried by NYPD sergeants and the Emergency Service Unit. The MTA wants no part of it.

"...The proposed legislation is the wrong way to go about protecting MTA employees. Asking them to carry weapons would cross the line into law enforcement -- a function that is best left to the NYPD," the MTA said.

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