After footage showing a teenager being dragged by the arms from a metro began circulating online, Nexus - which runs the metro system - has defended the actions of its security staff.
The incident took place at South Gosforth station. The video available shows security staff being asked by the individual - a young Black man - to produce ID before he tells them they are causing him to bang his head.
He can then be heard saying: "What are you doing this for? I'm literally being dragged off the train. Can somebody record this?" He is then seen outside of the train, where the altercation continued. He took issue with being touched by the staff further, and then sat down to avoid this."
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One witness said they understood the individual was 15 and autistic. They told ChronicleLive: "After refusing to move, an operations manager came down to speak with the young man. After a short conversation, the operations manager stated he would need to call the police to deal with the matter.
"Around 10 minutes later four members of Metro's private security team arrived. The young man immediately asked the security to produce their ID at which point they grabbed him and proceeded to drag him from the train onto the platform with another following carrying his belongings."
Nexus' security team was brought in to help combat anti-social behaviour on the transport network. The team are able to use "reasonable force" to remove someone from a train, if needed.
A Nexus spokesperson said: "Our security team were called to deal with an incident at South Gosforth Metro station on Thursday evening where a person was refusing to vacate the front seats of the train, which are currently reserved for operational purposes.
"Despite repeated requests to move, the individual, a male customer, refused to do so and our security team then removed him from the train and the police were requested to attend. Our security teams have to carry out a challenging and difficult role, deterring and dealing with anti-social behaviour situations."
The spokesperson said that if a formal complaint was made, this would be investigated thoroughly and appropriate action would be taken.
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