Pissed Subway Riders Chased Off Cop Who Assaulted MTA Worker: Report
The subway conductor allegedly attacked by NYPD officer Mirjan Lolja on a Bronx subway platform says the cop tried to escape by train after throwing her to the ground and choking her. The woman anonymously told the New York Daily News, "I believe the only thing that saved me was the train coming into the station."
An off-duty Lolja reportedly assaulted the MTA employee around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 23 after she announced service changes on the platform of the East Tremont Avenue station. "Before I turned around, this guy was on my back and I'm on the floor," the woman, 28, told the Daily News. "I was on my knees on the floor. It just happened so fast. I'm trying to get this guy off me and he's not letting up. He's choking me and pulling my hair."
She tells the Daily News that Lolja only stopped attacking her once he heard a B train heading toward the station, hopping in a subway car in attempt to flee the scene. The woman shouted to the train's conductor what happened and to not shut the train doors. Subway riders heard her screams as well, and reportedly started yelling at Lolja to get off, who ran and was caught on security camera exiting the station.
The officer claims the conductor instigated the attack after she allegedly grabbed his cell phone; Lolja turned himself into his Harlem precinct last week after police released the security footage to local news. He has not been charged.
The MTA employee says she still can't believe a police officer attacked her. "I thought people were lying," she told the Daily News. "I thought there's no way it could be a police officer acting like that. I still can't process it."
