NYPD assaults busker, arrests him after confirming he did nothing illegal

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NYPD arrests man for playing in the subway even though he recites the law word for word to show that it allows him to perform for donations.

‘A musician was assaulted and arrested after he wouldn’t stop playing guitar in a New York subway station on Friday morning. The video of the incident went viral, drawing attention to his cause: The police’s unfair treatment of buskers.

Andrew Kalleen, half of the indie/folk/rock duo Lawrence and Leigh, was playing his guitar around 1:30 a.m. on a platform at the Metropolitan Ave. G train station in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. A New York Police Department officer approached him, asking the 30-year-old for his permit.

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The guitarist replied that he didn’t need a permit to perform. And thus began a confrontation that ended with the NYPD officer assaulting and arresting Kalleen ‒ after reading aloud the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) rule saying the cop was wrong.. A bystander recorded the exchange.’