Help with subway token nets cuffs

ATLANTA – Transit police handcuffed and cited a man who sold a $1.75 subway token to another rider who was having trouble with a token vending machine. He vows to fight the citation in court.

Transit authority spokeswoman Jocelyn Baker said Friday that the officer “acted within the law” after he spotted Donald Pirone, 42, selling the token Nov. 30 inside the subway station.

Instead of giving Pirone a warning, the officer decided to handcuff him and give him the misdemeanor citation under a 1992 state law that bars passengers from selling Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority tokens, she said.

“What you’ve got to keep in mind is that fare abuse is a chronic problem,” Baker said.

Baker acknowledged that Pirone sold the token at face value and did not make a profit. But the law is the law, she said.

As for the handcuffs, Baker said the officer felt they were necessary.