SEPTA cop being investigated for confrontation with man holding tot on train

WARNING: The above video contains language some would find inappropriate.

A SEPTA TRANSIT Police officer is being investigated by Internal Affairs for a physical altercation with a man holding a toddler on the El, authorities said.

The confrontation, which was captured on cellphone video and posted on Facebook, occurred about 5 p.m. Thursday on the Market-Frankford line. SEPTA police said the man boarded the train at the Margaret-Orthodox station without paying his fare.

Surveillance video released yesterday by SEPTA shows the following chain of events:

The first officer boards the train at Erie-Torresdale and begins a conversation with the man, who is seated holding a little girl. After talking with the man for a few minutes, the officer tries to grab the man and appears to grab him by the throat, pushing him up against the wall as the man holds onto the child. The officer then releases him and walks away.

Moments later, the officer returns and resumes talking with the man, who sits back down. The train stops at Huntingdon station, where additional officers board the train. A K-9 officer handcuffs the man's right arm as he holds the girl in the other arm. The man gets up and walks off the train, but a struggle ensues and the man ends up against the wall on the platform still holding the child, surrounded by several officers as onlookers gather.

SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas Nestel said the man, identified as 20-year-old Ellis Smith, refused to show the officer his identification or get off the train, SEPTA's protocol for fare evasion. He said the officer - a 16-year veteran with no prior complaints - told a supervisor he believed he would face discipline if he let the citation slide, which Nestel took responsibility for.

"I never want a child's safety to be jeopardized," a contrite Nestel said during an afternoon news conference. "This is the type of incident that causes us to reflect on what we tell our police officers and how we tell them. Obviously, I have to go back to the drawing board."

Nestel called the officer's conduct "unacceptable" and said he would review the incident to determine how to prevent similar altercations in the future. "My concern and everybody else's concern is that force [was] used with a little child in the middle. That's where you step back - me as a leader step back - and reflect on if this is the best way to do this."

Three protesters who gathered outside SEPTA's headquarters called for the officer to be put on desk duty and said they believe race played a factor.

"I personally believe that the officers acted irresponsibly, and I do believe there's a racial element to this as well," said Asa Khalif. "In my opinion, if that individual had been white and that baby had been white, then the outcome of this situation would have been handled much [more] delicately."

Nestel said the officer (who is black) - identified as William Crawford - would not be on restricted duty during the investigation.

Smith, who is also black, was charged with fare evasion, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The child, who is believed to be Smith's daughter, was not injured and was safely turned over to her mother.