I Was Robbed!

Last night I left the house feeling good. I was off to see Abbie Gardner at Rockwood at 7:00. Many friends were going to be there, so I was pretty sure we’d go out afterward. At 10:00 if I wasn’t still at the afterparty and I still felt up to it I’d go to see TAARKA at Pete’s Candy Store. I was ready for an evening of friends and great music. I got to the subway and went through the high turnstile. It looks like this.

I had trouble moving in the turnstile. I thought someone behind me was holding on to the bars. That wasn’t it. He was in the turnstile standing right behind me. I exited and turned to him and he said, “Sorry, I was just trying to get in.” Nothing I could do so I just put my MetroCard back in my wallet and put my wallet back in my pocket. As my hand approached the wallet he grabbed it out of my hand and raced out the emergency exit. I knew there was no way I could possibly catch him and if I did then what? There was a point in staying; by pure chance one thing fell out of my wallet, my debit card. That would have been the worst thing to lose.

I immediately called the cops. They very quickly, just a few minutes. I told them what happened. I thought I’d fill out a report and that would be it. But it wasn’t. They took me in their car, and we drove around the neighborhood looking for the guy. I proved a terrible witness. All I could tell them was that it was a young black man, 18-20, about 6 feet tall, clean shaven, with close cropped hair, and wearing a hoodie. That’s a pretty high percentage of the people in my neighborhood. If you know me, you could guess that I was also wearing a hoodie. After we came up empty we went back into the subway station and met Transit Cops. I couldn’t believe that there were six cops there working my case. One of the cops made giving my description easier. He looked like the guy who took my wallet, could have been his older brother.

We walked through the station; I had no hope of seeing him there. Then I got in the transit cops’ car and drove around the neighborhood again. We didn’t see him. Then we were back at the subway station checking the cameras. Turns out that one was facing right out us so if it worked, they got a video of the crime. While we were trying to get into the room where we could view the videos, a report came in that they found someone that matched the perp’s description. I was driven to see him. It wasn’t him. He didn’t really fit the description; his hair was too long. I felt bad for him. Young black men have to go through this too often. The cops did apologize to him.

The next stop was the police station. It wasn’t the one near me, because it was in the subway we had to go to the station for subway crimes. It was in the Yankee Stadium subway station. There I talked to detectives. I told them what happened and looked at mug shots. That’s not done in mug shot books anymore. It was on a computer and I just hit N to go to the next picture. It’s more time consuming as you go through them one at a time, but it does give you a better view. I found one that might have been the guy. It’s not as easy to ID a person you’ve seen once for a short time as people think. Eyewitnesses are not reliable, as I am an I witness I can attest to that. Every juror needs to be made aware of that.

I filled out some forms saying what was taken, including a ticket to a Knick game. If he tries to use it, which I doubt, he’ll get caught. If he uses my MetroCard they will be alerted. Other than that, the only way I can see them catching him is if I happen to see him.

By the time I was through with the cops it was far too late to go see Abbie and I didn’t feel up to going to Brooklyn with no money and no MetroCard, so I went home. I’m doing better than the stereotype reaction. I don’t feel violated. I’m not scared. I’m as annoyed at missing the music and my friends as anything. My anxiety is kicking up, but no differently than if I had simply lost my wallet. I’m worried about how to replace everything. I have a form to bring to Motor Vehicles to get a new driver’s license but what about my insurance cards? What about my social security card? What about the things I’m forgetting were in the wallet? I’m get anxious just writing that out.

I’m not going to be scared going on the subway or going through that turnstile. It’s not like this is a common occurrence. The fact that it happened to me yesterday has nothing to do with the odds of it happening to me again. The only thing that I would do differently is right by me when I put my wallet away I’ll be more aware of them. I’ll probably stop doing that after a week. Oy, I have to buy a new wallet. I hate buying wallets. I’m particular. I don’t even now where to buy a wallet around here. I want a cheap one. I just bought it online.

I’m fine both physically and emotionally. Today I will have to go out without a wallet and buy a new MetroCard. I’ll be going to two concerts, Kiah Kater, and then Birds of Chicago and Red Molly; it’s APAP weekend. I’m not going to let this stop me from living my life. The simplest things can stifle me, but major illness and crime can’t. I’m not well-adjusted, I’m weirdly adjusted.