In response to the July 7, 2005 bombing of several trains and a bus in London, the US has started to increase its train security. New York City, however, is now on a state of Orange Alert, where as of July 22, the day after the second bombing in London, the NYC Transit police have given themselves the right to conduct random bag and large box searches. You can refuse, of course, but you will be barred from the train. The ACLU and a few groups are currently demanding that the city clarify its procedures, as the "random" searches seem to only affect certain groups of color and religion.
This time, I got searched (and was reported to the police)
Every Tuesday, I take the train to NYC for my night class at NYU. Today I showed up at the train station, but I missed my train by about a minute. The next train was 20 minutes out so I decided to wait, pacing the platform end to end. I noticed I was running out of time in the day, so I went all the way to the empty end of the platform, set down my backpack, took out my kufi (a prayer cap) and prayed. You know, prostrating yourself while facing Mecca. I then noticed a figure behind the tinted glass of the building I was behind, which immediately moved with hands-waving when I looked at it.
I bet he's afraid of me, I wonder if he'd call the police. For praying? I wondered. Either way, I took off my kufi, put my glasses on, picked up my backpack and sauntered off to the middle of the platform.
A few minutes later, I saw 3 uniformed police officers approach. I looked at them, like I always do, but they seemed to be looking right back at me. As of July 22, the overhead announcement declared, the police have the right to randomly search bags. I've been riding the trains several times since then, but it hadn't yet happened to me. I took notice of the officers, but didn't think much of it until I noticed that they were heading my way, and not paying attention to anyone else. By this point, I started to feel a bit nervous, and looked away. Seconds later I looked up and found myself cornered against the platform on all three sides by 3 cops. The one in front of me said "How are you doing?" I then noticed that each of them were about 2 feet away from me on either side. They weren't going to let me leave. I smiled and said I'm pretty good, I'm on my way to the city. They asked me if anything was up or unusual, and I said I missed my train. Of course, they started asking me which train, what time did I get here, what was I doing, etc. They next asked me if I was 'carrying anything,' and abruptly ended the question that vague. I think I said no, then they pointed to my bulging pocket and asked what I had in there. I told them wallet and keys, taking my wallet out. Then the officer on the left politely but intimidatingly asked if they could see my ID and the one on the right asked if he could search my bag (but informed me I could say no. I know where that would lead, they would prevent me from boarding the train.) I said yes, hoping this would be over soon. I was also totally unaware of the other people on the platform, who were most likely staring.
I remember being pretty nervous, thinking how to hand my backpack over without making any sudden moves (for obvious reasons). I slowly took my backpack off, opened it, and tried to slide it over to the one on the right. I didn't have much inside; my Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hardcover, two large cans of Iced Tea, khuffs (leather socks or moccasins) in a clear bag, textbooks, Battle of Algiers DVD, halaal marshmallow treats, etc. I handed my driver's license over to the one on the left. I smiled and said it doesn't look much like me (you idiot! I yelled inwardly at myself), and he looked at it and back at me, and said "yeah, you sprouted a beard." (Doh! I look a little unkempt beard-wise today.) The other one saw my EMT card in my wallet and asked me if I was one. I said yeah, and he asked me if I was practicing, where, and did I have ID from the corps. Fortunately, I did, and showed them. Aw man, had this happened in August, I would have had an EMT badge to show them. I'm sure they would have left me alone once they checked on it. Of course, they also saw my college ID and asked to see that as well, then asked me what my major was. I always pause when someone asks me that, because my answer is complicated, but this time it looked kinda incriminating (stupid!).
Then, out of the blue, cop on the left asked me if I spoke any foreign languages. I pondered for a moment and said Spanish. They started asking me if I was doing anything or saying anything foreign or Islamic. Now feeling a little confused, I said I was whispering and nobody heard me. Well, the middle cop told me, "we got a call on you." They said someone called the police saying a suspicious character was acting strangely and hanging out on the platform for a long time and doing something with a large backpack. (My backpack isn't exactly large. It's a college backpack, not a camping rucksack.) I told them I missed my train. Then they asked me if I was saying Islamic things. "Did you say the word "Allah"?" is what they asked me, and I told them no. "Were you doing anything to worry people?"
I decided to set the record straight, and told them since the sun was going down, I went to the edge of the platform and prayed where I thought nobody could see me. The guy said were you praying Hebrew or Muslim? Muslim, I replied. "Do you remember what time where you praying?" Around five. The one on the right said, "it's not a crime to pray in public, but you gotta be aware what the situation is, especially since you're from New York, you got a beard, and a bulky backpack, and people are nervous," I nodded a lot and said "Sure" and "Of course!" strongly every time they said they were just doing their job. I just hoped they would leave me alone soon.
By this point, the train arrived behind me. The middle cop still hadn't returned my ID, and had copied it all down and was radioing it in. I worriedly asked the guy on the right if this was going to be on a record and he insisted no, but this was all part of keeping everyone safe or whatever, surely I'd understand. I said yes of course, I'm an EMT, we do drills, etc. I wanted my ID back and to get on the train. I'm also thinking of my background check with FDNY from Friday, and hoping this won't affect it.
I told the cop I didn't want to miss my train, and they all were about to get on with me to the next stop (Nooo!) but the announcer came on the loudspeaker and said it was the express. Cop#3 went over and signaled the conductor not to leave, while #1 left to talk to the driver and let him know what was happening. #2 was still processing my ID. At this point I noticed that 2 of them were MTA police, and 1 was Suffolk county.
A few minutes went by, and the Suffolk officer passed it by telling me he went to the same college, NYU. (He saw my student ID and my T-shirt. The radio operator then came on and read a long sequence of digits. Apparently that was good enough for them, they gave me my license back, and I stepped on the train. "Have a nice day," I mumbled and searched for a seat on the now-packed train. I felt like everyone was looking at me, despite working my way through 5 cars. I eventually found a seat, and hoped those cops wouldn't change their mind and join me.
I called my UK friend, and vented it all. He was good to chat with, cheered me up. I wound up in the city a few minutes late, but I didn't care much. When I told my Algerian friend in class, he made me feel a lot better, saying how he got stopped for 4 hours in London right after the bombings there, and again in France during the Madrid incident. He more or less made me feel better, saying that they're just trying to intimidate you.