The MTA employees had choices other than the ones discussed here. I absolutely agree with violet #34 -- there is middle ground!
First, the station agent DIDN'T call the cops. He called the command post to get THEM to call the cops. Crucial moments could have been lost that way -- it's likely many moments, if you know the MTA...
Secondly, the station agent could have yelled loudly from inside the booth or used the intercom to say the cops were on the way -- and remained perfectly safe.
@rkolter #28: The conductor could certainly have stopped the train. Other trains along the line might have been forced to stop and wait as well, but that inconvenience seems comparatively trivial. A train stopped in the station would have meant witnesses. The perp might have been caught and apprehended if there had been witnesses.
And yes, of course a conductor can see someone who is being raped on a station platform. That's hard to miss. And he did see it, because he also called his command post.
By the way, the victim wasn't drunk or sleeping. She was on her way to her sick boyfriend's apartment, and she missed her stop because she was engaged in an altercation with the man who started touching her feet on the train -- then followed her off the train and raped her.
First, the station agent DIDN'T call the cops. He called the command post to get THEM to call the cops. Crucial moments could have been lost that way -- it's likely many moments, if you know the MTA...
Secondly, the station agent could have yelled loudly from inside the booth or used the intercom to say the cops were on the way -- and remained perfectly safe.
@rkolter #28: The conductor could certainly have stopped the train. Other trains along the line might have been forced to stop and wait as well, but that inconvenience seems comparatively trivial. A train stopped in the station would have meant witnesses. The perp might have been caught and apprehended if there had been witnesses.
And yes, of course a conductor can see someone who is being raped on a station platform. That's hard to miss. And he did see it, because he also called his command post.
By the way, the victim wasn't drunk or sleeping. She was on her way to her sick boyfriend's apartment, and she missed her stop because she was engaged in an altercation with the man who started touching her feet on the train -- then followed her off the train and raped her.