The confrontation was recorded by witness Shaquan Jenkins, who told NYC outlet Gothamist that the incident took place at the 145 Street Station while he was on his way home to Jersey City on Friday night.
Video footage of the altercation shows police officers forcibly dragging the young boy away for selling candy in the subway car, even after a woman repeatedly identified herself as the boy’s mother. The woman’s pleas to free the boy were ignored, even as bystanders loudly expressed indignation over the officers’ treatment of the minor. The boy - visibly fearful - can be seen crying as the police aggressively pull on his shirt.
“We're gonna let your son go when you speak to me," an officer tells the boy’s mother.
"I'm speaking to you now!" the woman responds.
According to Jenkins, the police also threw away the candy that the boy had mistakenly dropped on the subway platform after bystanders helped collect it to give back to the boy.
"They looked like kidnappers, like they were trying to kidnap the little boy. I felt outraged. It’s a little boy. Can’t they talk to him on his level and say it’s not safe, go home? Why did they need three officers to take him to the precinct?" Jenkins told Gothamist.
Another video shared by Twitter user Rebecca Kavanagh shows police officers dragging the boy up the subway stairs to a precinct in the station. However, it is unclear whether the NYPD detained the boy there or let him go.
“The video is upsetting and we have reached out to the NYPD for more information," Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson Aaron Donovan told Gothamist.
According to a report published in late March by the Wall Street Journal, New York City vendors have been affected greatly by the coronavirus outbreak. Last month, the New York City Council also called on the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, to lift a cap on street vending licenses and establish an agency to monitor street vendors.
“Instead of spending time on squeezing money out of immigrant workers who are suffering from record losses and are increasingly worried about how they’ll put food on the table, our city needs to create a comprehensive relief package that is inclusive of all types of businesses and workers, and that includes street vendors,” City Council member Margaret Chin said in a statement last month to food-centric outlet Eater.
In addition, more than 16 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits between March 15 and April 4 after losing their jobs due to the lockdown measures imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
New York has been the state hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. The latest data by Worldometer shows that almost 200,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the Empire State, and more than 10,000 people have died as a result.