Aiders, Abettors and Two-Legged Judas Goats

In my opinion, by refusing to even consider the possibility of homicide whenever a track death is not witnessed by passengers the NYPD delivers this de facto message to New York's violent criminals:

If you attack someone on a platform and force him onto the tracks where he is struck and killed by a train you will have committed the perfect crime—as long as there are no witnesses willing to come forward. 

If you attack a passenger and throw him or her off a moving train you will also have nothing to worry about, as long as you are not seen by witnesses.

You know that the common sites of such crimes are free of surveillance cameras so you only need to worry about eye witnesses.

If there are no witnesses we will automatically classify the death as "accident." If the death is reported to the media we will tell them there is "no evidence of criminality," that the person "fell from the train," that they were "walking on the tracks" or even that they were "surfing" on the roof of a subway car (link and link).  

There will be no serious investigation and no NYPD personnel will ever attempt to charge you with your crime.

But I think those NYPD officials responsible for subway crimes do more for criminals than cover up homicides. A lot more. They do everything in their power to ensure a steady supply of victims.

They do that by acting, not as honorable law enforcers, but as Judas goats.

Slaughterhouses use trained goats to lead unsuspecting cattle or sheep up ramps where they are promptly killed, disemboweled and butchered..   

Those Judas goats are innocent beasts that do not know they are leading other animals to their deaths. But I think the two-legged Judas goats working for NYPD know what they are doing. I think they know that by always ruling out homicide in unwitnessed track deaths and by always issuing the "no evidence of criminality" line they are using the bamboozled media to sell an untruth to the public: homicides seldom happen in the subway, not even late at night. Don't be afraid. The subway isn't dangerous.

I think NYPD/MTA officials actually encourage unwitnessed track homicides. They do that by assuring potential killers that, in the subway system, risk-free homicide is easily accomplished. And they do it by convincing unsuspecting future victims that the New York subway provides—throughout the system and at all hours—a low crime environment.

 © 2014 by James Graham