District attorney declines to prosecute men in subway incident

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - UPDATE: 3 MEN NOW FACE CHARGES

Original story below:

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has declined to press charges against five homeless men who became combative with an NYPD officer in a subway station.

The NYPD says the incident happened on Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. An officer who was working alone in the East Broadway subway station was approached by a woman who said she was being harassed by men inside the station.

The officer approved the five men along the F tracks.

The officer says the men were noticeably intoxicated and asked them to leave the station. Police say they refused to leave and became combative.

Video of the incident that was posted online shows the officer holding a collapsible baton and ordering the men to stay back as he backs up. One of the men continued to move forward toward the officer who fought him back.

During a struggle, the man fell onto the tracks. The officer requested for power to the tracks to be turned off and for additional units to respond.

Power was cut and the man was pulled from the tracks. The four others were also taken into custody.

EMS responded and transported the individuals to Beth Israel for treatment and then released.

On Monday at 10:35 a.m., officers returned to the subway station and found the men lying on the ground and took them into custody.

They were charged with a local law violation of being outstretched in the station. The district attorney declined charges. Juan Nunez, 27, and Eliseo Alvarez Santos, 36, did remain in custody due to having outstanding warrants for other issues. The other three were released back into the streets.