T worker hip checks, detains robbery suspect at Broadway station
By adamg - 8/6/09 - 10:37 am
MBTA surveillance photo shows T customer service agent (in purple) hip-checking suspect. Via MBTA.
Casey Tarushka, 23, was arrested on a larceny charge this morning after allegedly lifting a woman's BlackBerry - and after being detained by T workers, one of whom hip-checked him into a CSA booth as he tried fleeing.
Bail for Tarushka, formerly of Hull, was set at $1,500 in South Boston District Court. Prosecutors charge he snatched a BlackBerry out of a woman's bag, which was on the floor of a Red Line train pulling into Broadway around 9:30 this morning. When the train stopped, the woman happened to notice her phone was gone and spotted Tarushka and a gal pal rushing out, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office:
The victim observed Tarushka attempting to rush through the crowd while clutching her phone against his chest. She ran, caught up with him, and took it back. Tarushka's female accomplice allegedly shoved her. When the suspects allegedly tried to flee, she raced after him.
Stop him," she cried out.
The woman, described as white, with short blonde hair, long fingernails, and an eyebrow ring, and who may be known as "Cat", escaped.
The DA's office says police confiscated a small amount of marijuana from Tarushka, who allegedly told officers he was on his way to a methadone clinic.
Innocent, etc.
Comments
Looks to be a larceny --
By JakeWark - 8/6/09 - 10:59 am
Looks to be a larceny -- Tarushka allegedly swiped a cell phone from a passenger's purse before hopping off the train.
Thanks
By adamg - 8/6/09 - 11:07 am
Headline fixed.
Thats pretty brazen. Block
By anon (not verified) - 8/6/09 - 11:12 am
Thats pretty brazen.
Block and a 1/2 from C6 precinct, and there's almost always MBTA police hanging around this busy station.
Nice!
By kmacjp (not verified) - 8/6/09 - 12:15 pm
Kind of impressed with the hip check maneuver!
Hip check
By neilv - 8/6/09 - 12:21 pm
Are we sure it was a CSA? I'd be a little surprised if CSAs aren't prohibited from using physical force under those circumstances. I think it's a liability problem in multiple ways.
Nice Shot!
By SwirlyGrrl - 8/6/09 - 12:53 pm
Please, Neil. C'mon.
You gonna give him 5 for fighting? Because that looked like a legal check to me! He didn't use physical force ... he merely redirected the alleged perp's momentum into a solid object. Simple.
Good on 'im.
Looks like a nice move to me
By neilv - 8/6/09 - 1:50 pm
But that theft of a phone worth (say) $100 could've turned into an injury that costs MBTA 6 or 7 figures.
Assuming that it was intentional... I'm guessing that the CSA didn't even know what the alleged crime was at that point. He might also not have realized that, being on camera like that, he'd have a harder time saying "Yeah, the guy just ran into me..."
Why?
By SwirlyGrrl - 8/6/09 - 2:01 pm
You don't have to be a cop to assist with a crime in progress. Alleged perp would have a very hard time crying foul here ... he was, after all, acting very suspicious!
See Something, Shove Something
By Michael - 8/6/09 - 2:03 pm
I like it.
The T IDed him as a CSA
By adamg - 8/6/09 - 1:40 pm
So I think he's a CSA. Here's another still, moments later:
Lesson: CSAs are not be be messed with.
Is the CSA guy's name Ulf?
By Dave - 8/6/09 - 2:43 pm
Is the CSA guy's name Ulf?
How are you getting these
By anon (not verified) - 8/6/09 - 2:59 pm
How are you getting these surveillance shots from the MBTA so quickly? Is there a location/page on their website?
The T e-mailed me copies
By adamg - 8/6/09 - 3:26 pm
Specifically, Joe Pesaturo.
That's a good sign
By Jay Levitt - 8/6/09 - 8:49 pm
Hopefully that means they're happy with the CSA's performance, and won't do anything stupid like fire the one guy who actually seems to care!
Just for the hell of it (hey
By anon (not verified) - 8/6/09 - 12:50 pm
Just for the hell of it (hey it feels like a Friday at work) I Googled Casey Tarushka and up comes a bunch of articles about him being arrested since he was 18. Hope the judge finally throws the book at him.
Rap Sheet via Newspaper
By SwirlyGrrl - 8/6/09 - 2:05 pm
Broke, homeless, Druggie Sad
By anon (not verified) - 8/6/09 - 2:33 pm
Broke, homeless, Druggie
Sad that he won't get the help he needs until he decides to make the change, if ever.
Is there a way to commit drug abusers who have a long wrap sheet, and refuse treatment? Throwing a person like this in jail is just going to take up space and not fix the problem when he's paroled.
Will would have someone shoot him in the forehead, but I'm sure the rest of us agree that's not an option.
Broadway Station
By plt3012 - 8/6/09 - 4:49 pm
Just a couple of things. First, I remember talking with a CSA recently. These folks are having their positions eliminated soon. Those with enough seniority will go back to driving buses or being motormen. Those without seniority, gone.
Secondly, I find it curious people are criticizing the CSA's actions. I applaud his actions. An act like this should be common place. I'd like to know what the guy in the photo did to help the CSA. My guess, not much. Keep up the good work, whoever you are.
Some initial questions: 1.
By neilv - 8/6/09 - 5:32 pm
Some initial questions:
1. Are CSAs trained and sworn as police officers?
2. What information did the CSA have about the running person?
3. What is MBTA policy regarding whether or when CSAs may use force?
4. If MBTA policy ever permits use of force by CSAs, what training in use of force does the MBTA give to CSAs?
5. Does the MBTA believe that taking down a phone pilferer this way very easily could have cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars?
There are more questions where those came from.
When is it good to run?
By Kaz - 8/6/09 - 5:41 pm
I'm going to have to go a little bit BillTheTulip on this one. If you are obviously leaving the scene of a crime you just committed (and likely committing others in the progress, like gate-jumping), then you get whatever you get from anyone (random public servant or random public member) who wants to stop you, shy of being gunned down.
That does not mean that the apprehender can abuse you after you are captured. However, liability should be extremely limited if you choose to pursue any retaliation against the person bringing you to justice in hot pursuit. You bring any consequences upon yourself by having created the situation in the first place.
That's how I opine these situations should be viewed. Kudos to the defenseman who boarded this guy.
I think you're saying
By neilv - 8/6/09 - 5:46 pm
"*This* is how it *should be*."
I could argue in that context too, but instead, I'll limit myself to arguing in context of how things *are* (since reality is the context in which the MBTA should be operating, which is what I care about), and point back to my list of initial questions.
According to the DA
By Kaz - 8/6/09 - 6:14 pm
See below.
The way I think it should be is exactly how it is (aka employee gets commendation for stopping a robber escape).
If the robber sues the MBTA for injuries suffered due to the hip check, the way I think it *should be* starts with a hearty laugh by the judge, followed up by the judge giving the robber the finger, and ends with the robber being charged with the cost of the MBTA's lawyer fees.
I think the slamming of a gavel *should* come at the end, too. It's traditional that way.
Liability
By neilv - 8/6/09 - 7:39 pm
From the start, I've been talking only about liability and MBTA operations, not whether the CSA was behaving criminally or as a good citizen. I defer to the DA on the latter.
Regarding liability, if I imagine an ambulance-chaser for a moment, I see a credible civil case that could be very expensive: "[Head injury, back injury, neck injury, or ruined knee]... permanent serious injury... just over a Blackberry... and the Blackberry had even already been returned... Mr. Smith was leaving... an MBTA employee [remember how people feel about the MBTA and government] used unnecessary force, permanently maiming Mr. Smith... while he was leaving and not a threat anyone... he didn't deserve to be maimed over a Blackberry... his mother had to get a second mortgage to pay his medical bills and how she's losing the family home... etc. etc., etc. [pssst... and government has deep pockets...]"
A real lawyer could surely make a more compelling case for a jury/judge than the caricature I just gave, but you see what I mean. I don't think it's frivolous, and I don't think the judge would flip the bird.
And I think that's the very real risk that MBTA faces if they permit employees who are not trained officers to tackle fare jumpers and petty thieves.
Some answers in updated post
By adamg - 8/6/09 - 5:59 pm
Apparently, the guy was running, the woman caught up to him (and got her BlackBerry back), then after dude's wingwoman hip-checked the victim, he ran off, with victim behind yelling "Stop, varlet!" or words to that effect. So the CSA, no doubt a loyal Bruins fan, sprang into action.
The complete release from the DA's office, which includes this:
Post updated
By adamg - 8/6/09 - 5:01 pm
With more info on his capture and the fact he now lists Quincy as his home instead of Hull.