>>1790858What the NYPD used to do was stake out stations where all the metrocard machines were broken, hide behind a pillar, and arrest anyone who jumped because there wasn't a way to recharge their metrocard (this was before OMNY). Needless to say their preferred locations for doing this were in majority black areas. Chances are it was the cops breaking the machines, because they have to report to COMPSTAT to demonstrate how much lawn order they bring to the city, and why actually look for career fare evaders when you can just manufacture some opportunistic evaders and arrest them on the spot.
Eventually they arrested a black guy with connections, it made headlines, and there was an outcry, so instead of reforming and enforcing fare evasion in an actually reasonable way, the oinkers had a hissy fit and stopped doing anything at all (needless to say they still get paid handsomely for sitting around doing jack shit)