Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Off-Duty Cop Shoots Suspected Groper In Harlem Subway Station
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 9, 2011
Modified Dec 9, 2011
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 .
via DNAInfo
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 9, 2011
Modified Dec 9, 2011
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
An off-duty cop shot and apprehended a suspected groper in a subway station in Harlem today. The shooting happened on the platform of an A train at the 125th Street station just after 12:30 p.m. According to the News, a mother screamed that her teen daughter had just been groped, and a second woman also came forward that she had been groped. The officer spotted the suspect sitting on a bench in front of the train: “As he approaches [the suspect] the officer identifies himself as a police officer,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. “A struggle ensues and one round is discharged from the officer’s gun, striking the suspect in the [buttocks].“
The Post identified the suspect as 22-year-old Jacob Sanford; he is currently in stable condition at Harlem Hospital. The News says Sanford has 20 previous arrests on his record. The officer, a 19-year veteran who has spent his entire career in the Transit Bureau, wasn't injured in the scuffle. The A, B, C & D subway trains were bypassing the 125th Street station after the incident.
Tagged
125th street
a train
cop
groper
harlem
manhattan
nypd
shooting
subway
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail
The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault
By
Charles Lane
Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York
By
Giulia Heyward
‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech
By
Ben Feuerherd
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 .