Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Did MTA Officers Beat Down Cartwheeler?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 7, 2009
Modified Oct 7, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 7, 2009
Modified Oct 7, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The MTA officers do not like gymnastics. Consider that your warning. One man, Jesse Archer, was recently walking through a nearly empty Grand Central at 1:30 a.m., on his way home from a birthday party at the Grace Hotel, when he decided to do a cartwheel. He reports back:
"The police called me over, and gave me a ticket for 'disorderly conduct.' It was so unbelievable, and I let them know it. But when they were done issuing me the citation, I start walking toward my friend Stace who was waiting nearby. Facing him, not the cops, I utter an expletive about the cops, and next thing I know I'm being tackled by several policemen from behind.
The cops wrench my wrist back, handcuff me, and one of them has my head and is pounding it into the cold hard cement. I was not resisting, I was not fighting. I didn't even see them coming. They were simply going to teach this faggot a lesson! While my brains are being dashed, all I can think (besides, this shouldn't be happening!) was that this kind of injury is exactly how Natasha Richardson died."
He goes on to say that he eventually blacked out from the beating, and woke up in his underwear in a jail cell. By 3:30 a.m. he was let go, with two summonses and a piece of paper saying he needed hospital treatment but refused. He suffered cuts on his face, bruising on both sides of his head, ears, and wrist. Allegedly he's being helped out by Christine Quinn's office, and he tells us he is attempting to get surveillance footage. We've contacted Quinn's office and the MTA for their comment on the incident.
UPDATE: The MTA's press secretary, Jeremy Soffin, tells us: "Mr. Archer was issued two summonses for disorderly conduct early on the morning of October 3, after he was found lying on the floor of Grand Central Terminal by MTA Police. Our records and video footage show that he was held in detention for approximately 30 minutes, during which time he was fully clothed and not mistreated. We continue to investigate his claims."
Tagged
cartwheel
grand central
Jesse Archer
MTA
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 5:26 p.m. ET
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
News
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
2 men accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD detective in the Bronx plead not guilty
By
Charles Lane
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .