Judge issues summons for former ‘The Bear’ writer who was handcuffed in NYC train seating dispute

A new york A city judge has dismissed a civil subpoena against Alex O’Keefe, the former writer for FX’s hit show “The Bear,” who was handcuffed and removed from a commuter train last month after a seating dispute.

O’Keefe, who’s that? Blackhas accused transit officials of targeting her because of her race, after another passenger complained about how O’Keefe was seated on a Metro-North train.

In a video filmed by O’Keefe that gained widespread attention online, the TV screenwriter can be heard asking officers: “You’re going to arrest a black man on the train, because this white woman said she didn’t like the way I sat on the train?”

The train does not appear to be fully loaded in the video.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police were said to have arrived after a conductor complained that O’Keefe had spread his legs on the seat next to him on the train, in violation of rail line rules.

He refused officers’ instructions to exit the train, the MTA said, and was handcuffed, questioned on a platform and released with a summons for disorderly conduct.

That subpoena was dismissed by an administrative judge on Tuesday, a typical outcome for such alleged violations.

In a video filmed outside the courthouse, O’Keefe accused the MTA of trying and failing to “make an example of me.”

“I was harassed and detained for sitting while black,” O’Keefe said in a statement. “Even if this frivolous case is dismissed today, I will continue to defend the civil rights of everyone New Yorker,

A spokesperson for the transit authority did not respond to a request for comment on the dismissals.

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber previously described the dispute as a simple case of a passenger not following agency rules.

“The police have to get involved because someone won’t take their foot off the seat?” Lieber said, “Just take your feet off the seat. It’s that simple. And be respectful of other passengers. But we’ll watch the video and deal with all the drama that seems to arise from these simple interactions these days.”

O’Keefe, 31, won the 2023 Writers Guild Award along with other writers as “The Bear” was named best comedy series.