An MTA employee was arrested in the line of duty Tuesday after allegedly punching a police officer for allegedly evading fares at a Queens subway station, law enforcement officials said.
Officials say Richard Lewis, 35, allegedly slipped through a subway emergency exit without paying at the Myrtle Wyckoff Avenue L/M station in Ridgewood on Tuesday and was met by police on the other side. Ru.
When police tried to stop the employee, he yelled profanities, clapped his hands and refused to follow instructions, officials said.
Police said Louis, who works as a petty mechanic, was charged with theft of services, evading payment for transportation services, obstruction of public administration and resisting arrest.
After Louis was handcuffed, he told police he was an MTA employee, sources told the Post.
The arrests come a day after the NYPD announced it would deploy more than 800 officers to subways to crack down on fare evaders, an effort the department says will deter violent crime.
The MTA announced that Lui has been suspended pending an internal investigation.
