The New York Police Department arrested a 23-year-old woman, Amira Hunter, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. They believe she participated in an assault on a performer at a Manhattan Subway station. Consequently, Hunter, a Brooklyn resident, faces charges of assault.
The arrest follows an incident in mid-February when someone attacked Iain Forrest, a 29-year-old electric cellist known as “Eyeglasses.” This happened during a talent show at the 34th Street Herald Square station. The assailant reportedly struck Forrest in the back of the head with a metal water bottle.
Despite previous arrests related to domestic violence, petty theft, and grand larceny, Hunter pleaded not guilty. Therefore, the judge ordered Hunter, who has no prior criminal convictions, to participate in supervised release.
In response to the judge’s decision, Hunter’s lawyer, Joseph Conza, emphasized the importance of presuming innocence, even when early video footage is available. Conza stated, “The judge in this case was right to order supervised releases for Ms. Hunter, as she has no prior criminal convictions.”
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He also mentioned that people still deserve the presumption of innocence, even when they released the video. Moreover, he argued it is only a tiny part of the story. Other people faced exoneration despite early video footage for precisely that reason.
In a video released on Friday, March 1, 2024, Forrest expressed relief and gratitude following the suspect’s arrest. Despite releasing the suspect under supervision, Forrest chose to avoid the intricacies of bail reform.
Instead, he emphasized the importance of everyone staying safe and moving forward positively with music. Forrest added, “You may see on the news that the suspect was released under supervision. Rather than get mired in the complexities of bail reform, I want to focus on everyone staying safe and moving forward positively with music.”
The released video reveals a woman lingering at the station, attentively observing Forrest’s performance before launching a sudden attack on him. After the incident, the cellist claims he stopped going to the station. Forrest shared with NBC News that the assault compelled him to stop playing in the NYC subway system.
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Also, he mentioned being in the process of establishing a coalition to advocate for enhanced protections for subway musicians. Forrest participates in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Music Under New York performing arts program.
While the NYPD currently documents information on reported attacks, Iain Forrest currently advocates for more detailed and specific data collection. He aims to enhance the documentation of incidents. He believes this will provide a comprehensive perspective on the challenges faced by subway system performers.
Moreover, he noted that there’s no tally or simple counting and tracking of specifically attacked musicians. “‘Once we have eyes on those trends, and you see,'” he said. “‘OK, well look, it’s against solo musicians who are at 34th Street Herald Square at the evening rush hour.”
He continued,” ‘Once you have that information, you can better allocate resources to prevent that from happening with the NYPD.'” According to reports, Hunter will return to court on Thursday, April 4, 2024, for a hearing concerning the assault case.
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