After attack, a warier T rider
Scott Edmiston didn't see them coming. When the 31-year-old civil rights worker got off the Ashmont-bound Red Line train, his mind was still in his book: Barack Obama's autobiography. ''Ironically, I was reading . . . a chapter that was on crime and community organizations in Chicago," he said.
But as he walked down a dark, narrow, fenced ramp Halloween night, out of the Fields Corner T station and toward Geneva Avenue, an arm hit him square in the face. Then came another and another. ''I turned around and got hit again," he said. ''I was trying to protect my face."
He couldn't tell if the men had weapons -- there were four to six of them -- young, in low-riding jeans. One wore a black parka. ''They had a high-pitched giggle," he recalled. ''They said 'Get the bag, get the bag!' But they didn't get the bag." They got his wallet, making off with about $60 in cash, a $44 check, and credit cards. ''I was in no condition to chase them," Edmiston said. He didn't know it yet, but he had three fractured ribs.
The attack, which Edmiston's wife reported to GlobeWatch, was one of 169 emergency calls made from the Fields Corner T station in the past year. MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said many of the calls weren't serious, but 12 of them were to report assaults, two were for breaking and entering, and six were to report robberies in progress.
While Fields Corner is not unusually crime-ridden, Rivera said, it is one of several stations -- including Forest Hills, Ruggles, and Jackson Square -- targeted by the three-year-old Operation Stop Watch program, which plants police in transportation hot spots during morning and afternoon school commute hours.
One such team, comprising MBTA, school, and Boston police, as well as probation officers, patrolled Fields Corner without incident on a Monday morning about two weeks ago, said MBTA Police Detective Debra Campbell. Fields Corner, Rivera added, is generally ''not a station the youth find attractive to congregate at."
It's a station few find attractive right now. Part of the Red Line Rehabilitation Project, the station will be immersed in remodeling until 2007. Eventually, it will sit at street level, with easy bus access, new lighting, and a state-of-the-art intercom system, Rivera said.
But for now, isolated-feeling ramps lead from Dorchester and Geneva avenues to the tracks. After the attack on Edmiston, the walkways were immediately inspected, Rivera said. Broken lights were replaced, shrubbery cut back, and police patrols stepped up. Emergency call boxes are checked daily and mirrors, allowing riders to see who's behind them, will be added to the corridors soon, she said.
''It's unfortunate that incident occurred," Rivera said, of Edmiston's mugging. She said T police have not received any more calls about muggings at that stop since Edmiston's attack, and that it does not appear an organized gang is preying on riders at the station.
But Edmiston, who works for the US Department of Health and Human Services in the Office for Civil Rights, said his experience isn't rare. He is ethnically half African-American and half Vietnamese, he said, and ''a lot of Vietnamese I know have been mugged."
He also heard from a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, where pain from his broken ribs drove him after three days, that three other crime victims from Fields Corner had visited there within the past month, he said.
After the attack on Edmiston, two MBTA officers showed up, took his report and waited as he stumbled onto a train home. But later, as he left messages and had to wait two weeks, he said, to speak with an T detective, he grew more frustrated. He said MBTA police, who handle all crime calls short of murder in T stations, did not have statistics to give him when he asked the detective how much crime occurred at the station.
''We're operating in an information vacuum," he said.
He still rides the T to Fields Corner, but he now takes a different exit from the station. And he's still considering moving from Somerville to Dorchester, where he serves on the board of Viet-AID. But he continues to feel almost paranoid, he said, wondering if his assailants still frequent the station. There have been no arrests.
Of his attackers, he said, ''I would want to forgive them. Kids like to fight. I used to be a minor bully myself. . . . It's fun to pick on weaker people." But if teens suffer no consequences for violent behavior, their crimes can escalate, he said. ''It's sad, actually."
For the T's part, Rivera said, police are educating riders citywide on how to avoid being victimized. Officers recently handed out fliers, warning riders against using or showing expensive MP3 players or cellphones.
Edmiston believes appearing distracted on the train could have made him a target. ''I don't read on the train anymore," he said. ''I don't listen to music. It's definitely changed my attitude and it's sad because I love the city."
T safety tips
- Stay alert; don't use expensive MP3 players, cellphones, or electronic equipment that can distract you or make you a target.
- Travel with friends and limit casual conversation in unfamiliar settings.
- Know where you are going and walk quickly and confidently to your destination.
- Walk and park in well-lighted areas.
- Familiarize yourself with the train's safety features.
- Hold purses, briefcases, and packages close to your body. Carry wallets in front pockets.
- Do not travel with exposed expensive jewelry.
- Talk to children about the MBTA and teach them to identify employees and police.
- If you witness criminal or suspicious activity, notify a T employee or call the MBTA Police at 617-222-1212.
For more tips and information go to www.transitpolice.us. 