Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Photo: Gun-Toting Sleepy Cop Caught Snoozing On The F Train
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 23, 2012
Modified Feb 23, 2012
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
John Del Signore
Published Feb 23, 2012
Modified Feb 23, 2012
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 armed NYPD officer was disciplined after getting caught sleeping on the F train last Thursday, according to a straphanger who photographed the cop sawing wood in the middle of the afternoon. Record producer engineer Martin Bisi tells us he boarded the F train at Carroll Street around 3:15 p.m. and immediately spotted the sleepy cop catching some Z's at the end of the subway car. "I was pretty disturbed by the whole thing," Bisi tells us. He got off the train at Jay Street-Metrotech, leaving the officer to his slumbers, but gave it some thought and decided to say something about what he saw.
"I felt I had to do something," says Bisi. "So a couple of hours later I approached a cop on 34th Street, and she couldn't believe the photo. She was shocked. So she took my information and a lieutenant called me fairly quickly, about an hour later." Bisi says the lieutenant, William Scarcella, asked him to forward the photos, and after reviewing the images, Scarcella followed up with Bisi about Sleepy.
According to Bisi, Lt. Scarcella told him the napping cop belongs to a mounted unit, and was off duty at the time. Nevertheless, Scarcella told Bisi he was "disgusted and embarrassed" by the officer's behavior, adding that it was extremely dangerous, considering he was carrying a firearm. Bisi says he was told that even sitting down was against regulations, and that uniformed officers are prohibited from sitting down in the subway.
The lieutenant told Bisi the officer would get some vacation time docked and have the rules explained to him again. "It didn't seem very severe to me as a punishment," Bisi says. A call to Scarcella this afternoon went unanswered, the MTA declined to comment, and the NYPD press office has not yet replied to a request for comment. We'll give them a couple more hours—it's probably naptime.
Tagged
f train
MTA
nypd
sleepy cop
subway
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
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 .