MIDTOWN — An MTA station agent was arrested after he failed to open a gate for NYPD officers in pursuit of a shoplifter, prosecutors said.
Police were chasing after a person who robbed a local CVS and fled into the Columbus Circle station Tuesday night when officers asked token booth clerk Darryl Goodwin to open the gate, according to court papers and a New York Daily News report.
A lieutenant asked the 54-year-old Goodwin twice to let them in, but he refused both times, causing the suspect to get away.
The lieutenant then asked a third time, at which point the MTA worker “grimaced” at the officer and “slowly moved his hand to push the button to open the gate,” a criminal complaint stated.
Another responding officer then arrived and asked Goodwin to open the gate so he could help the lieutenant in finding the suspect, but Goodwin again refused to let him in, prosecutors said.
He asked a second time and Goodwin opened the gate again, but the delay allowed the shoplifter to avoid arrest, prosecutors said.
The officers returned to confront Goodwin, who left the booth and held his MTA badge close to the lieutenant’s face, according to the criminal complaint. The officer grabbed the badge and tried to push it away from his face, cutting the officer's hand.
Goodwin was charged with obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and assault, according to the complaint.
He was released without bail after his arraignment Wednesday and is due back in court on June 29.
"He's an exemplary employee... not a passenger complaint in the past 20 years," Derick Echevarria, vice president of stations for the Transit Workers Union, told the Daily News. "It's a misunderstanding on the police's part."
Goodwin's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
The MTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
