A brawl in a New York subway station crew room Tuesday led to the arrests of a metro transit conductor and a union official.
The vice president of rapid transit operations with the Transport Workers Union Local 100 (TWU), Canella Gomez, allegedly came to blows with Tramell Thompson, a metro train conductor who founded a different unionized group, Gothamist reported. Both Gomez and Thompson were charged with assault after the alleged incident in the Bedford Park Boulevard station.
The two men allegedly punched and kicked each other after an argument turned physical in the station’s crew room, an NYPD spokesperson told the outlet. Thompson was sent to the hospital with injuries to his face and knee, Gothamist reported.
The incident occurred as Gomez was reportedly attempting to hang posters advertising his union in the crew room. Thompson allegedly began cursing at Gomez before punching him, TWU’s President Richard Davis told Gothamist.
Tramell Thompson, the outspoken leader of a dissident group in TWU Local 100, and union VP Canella Gomez were both charged with assault. https://t.co/nxhT4fqfXJ
— WNYC 🎙 (@WNYC) February 22, 2023
Davis claimed it was self-defense. “Gomez was acting in self-defense, he was sucker punched, he responded to protect himself, and then he restrained Conductor Thompson and directed the police to be called,” Davis said. (RELATED: Investment Banker Arrested After Punching NYC Subway Worker In The Face)
Thompson has reportedly been a vocal critic of MTA rules. He reportedly previously criticized Gomez, calling on the union vice president to push back against the MTA encouraging workers to clean up human waste in railcars, according to Gothamist.
“Why isn’t the union holding the MTA accountable for asking us to perform these unsafe functions?” Thompson questioned, according to the outlet.