A Subway Pusher Shoved Someone Onto CTA Tracks & The Public Wasn't Notified, Report Says
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 7, 2017 5:55PM
A man was shoved onto the CTA train tracks at a Loop station last month by a stranger, but Chicago police have declined to publicly release photos of the attacker, according to a report by the Tribune.
The details of the attack as reported by the Tribune are alarming: Ben Benedict was waiting for a train at the Washington Blue Line station at around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 1, when someone came up from behind and shoved him onto the tracks with "a full-on running push." He fell only a foot from the third rail. The attacker then blocked Benedict's attempts to climb up from the tracks and tried to fight off bystanders who tried to come to his aid. Only after they circled the pusher were other commuters able to pull Benedict up to the platform.
Even though the attacker fled, police chose not to distribute a photo, which they culled from CTA surveillance video. (Images were shared with police officers and CTA security, according to the report.) Police declined to alert the public because the attack "appears to be an isolated incident" and "CTA and CPD do not believe there is any risk to the traveling public," CPD communications director Anthony Guglielmi told the paper.
A CTA spokesperson said the determination whether or not to distribute an image of a suspect is make by law enforcement, not the transit agency.
It's not uncommon for CPD to publicly release photos of suspects believed to be involved in violent incidents on the CTA. Last month, police shared a photo pulled from CTA surveillance footage after a man fired shots at a person on a CTA train at the Jackson Red Line stop.
So far police have not made an arrest in the attack. Benedict said the last time he spoke with officers was the day after he was pushed.
Read the full Tribune story here.