A 37-year-old Ghanaian living in Bronx, New York is facing trial for subway attack.
Frank Abrokwa, was said to have reportedly smeared human feces on a woman at the East 241st Street station in the Bronx during rush hour on February 21, 2022.
He has been charged with forcible touching, menacing, disorderly conduct, harassment, in connection with the stomach-churning attack after he was arrested February 28, 2022, according to New York Daily News report sighted by DGN Online.
The news report, wearing a brightly-colored ‘Slam’ magazine cover bomber jacket and NBA hat, Abrokwa cursed out Judge Wanda Licitra during his first court appearance at Bronx Criminal Court late Tuesday.
Abrokwa said he was tired of waiting and demanded the judge hurry things up so he could be handed over to Brooklyn detectives who were waiting to question him in a hate crime investigation.
He is said to have been freed without bail in three other cases.
He had to face the judge for the attack that took place just three days after New York City Mayor Eric Adams rolled out the Subway Safety Plan meant to crack down on violence in crime-ridden transport system.
Per a surveillance video from the station that was released by the New York City Police Department on Monday shows the victim, described as a 43-year-old woman, sitting on a bench waiting for a train.
A man walks along the platform carrying a plastic bag. Suddenly, he lunges at the woman and appears to shove the bag into her face.
Mayor Adams was mentioned to have described the incident as a ‘horrific experience for anyone to go through’ when addressing an unrelated press conference on Monday.
‘Human waste or someone spitting in your face, those are real signs of mental health issues … and we really must dig into how we’re dealing with these mental health issues,’ the mayor added.
By Vincent Kubi