I have been a member of Daily Kos for a while but I comment seldom. But when I came across the video that I posted below, I just knew that I had to share it with people. On March 18, 2016 a man named Johnell Muhammad was questioned by police for not paying his subway fare. The cops claim that he assaulted them and needing to find a way to safely take him into custody, Muhammad was escorted out of the station, placed face first on the ground, had his hands and feet bound and was then placed face down inside a large ‘body’ bag to further subdue him. According to the police, Muhammad’s feet and hands being bound were not enough to prevent him from hurting himself or someone else. I have been thinking about this video since I first saw it on Sunday and I just don’t understand how not paying a $2.75 subway fare escalated to this point.
The Gothamist did some follow up on this case and according to a hospital employee that was interviewed, the EDP, or Emotionally Disturbed Persons bags that was used here are used quite regularly under certain circumstances. However, the hospital employee claimed to have never seen a person’s entire head be placed inside the bag like what happened to Muhammad.
In case you are wondering what happened to Muhammad, he was kept in the bag for 20 minutes while waiting for an ambulance and then taken to a hospital and then from the hospital, Muhammad was taken to the Manhattan Detention Complex and booked on numerous charges.