Police in Pheonix, Arizona, have arrested a man after train surveillance footage showed him forcing a disabled woman out of her wheelchair in an apparent attempt to steal it.

In the video - which was later released by the Phoenix Police Department - 26-year-old Austin Shurbutt can be seen wearing reindeer slippers as he stands up from his seat on the light rail and approaches the woman sat in her wheelchair.

At first, it looks as if Shurbutt is going to attempt to push the defenseless woman off the train, but he then proceeds to tip her chair and dump her onto the floor.

Check out the disgusting moment in the surveillance video below:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/K0viyuEO-sKUnNGKf.mp4||K0viyuEO]]

The upsetting incident took place at around 3:40PM on Black Friday, as the train pulled into the station at 12th Street and Jefferson.

After sharing the footage across social media, the Phoenix Police Department confirmed in a subsequent post that Shurbutt had been identified and arrested.

They wrote: "The reindeer slipper wearing criminal who tried to rob a woman from her wheelchair is under arrest.

"Austin Shurbutt was captured this afternoon after thousands of you helped share his picture across social media.

"The 26-year-old has two outstanding warrants and now faces 5 new charges including robbery, kidnapping and assault for dumping a woman out of her wheelchair on the light rail and taking the chair. Good Samaritans came to the rescue and got the wheelchair back from Shurbutt.

"He was still wearing the reindeer slippers when he was arrested."

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/phoenixazpolice/photos/a.674251785983405/3194658243942734/?type=3&theater]]

Police have also revealed that Shurbutt also had two outstanding warrants and faces charges of robbery, kidnapping, and assault.

The dramatic moment a California police officer dragged a stuck wheelchair-bound man off train tracks just moments before an oncoming train passed through has been captured on the cop's bodycam.

Lodi Police Officer Erika Urrea was fortunately in the area of the crossing at approximately 8:45AM on Wednesday when she spotted the man, who appeared to have gotten the wheels of his chair stuck in the tracks.

As she stepped out of the car, the railroad alert systems blared and the crossing arm was lowered, and Urrea quickly jumped into action knowing she had just seconds to save the man's life.

The heart-stopping bodycam footage can be seen below:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/nSpdv2mH-Q0L14jDU.mp4||nSpdv2mH]]

The footage - captured by Urrea's body-worn camera - shows her arrive at the crossing and spotting the 66-year-old man unable to move. Running over to him, she asks: "Can you get up?"

And the train fast approaches, its horn can be heard ringing out in the background as it gets closer and closer.

Unable to move the wheelchair, Urrea pulls the man free and drags his body off the tracks - with literally seconds before the train plows through.

Per Fox News, police have confirmed that the man was taken to a local hospital for a leg injury, but was otherwise okay.

In a Facebook post praising Officer Urrea's heroism, the Lodi Police Department wrote:

"On 08/12/2020 at around 8:44 AM, Officer Urrea was in the area of Lodi Ave and the railroad tracks when she saw a male in a wheelchair who appeared to be stuck on the tracks.

"She noticed that the railroad crossing arms started to come down and saw that a train was approaching.

"She immediately exited her patrol vehicle and began running towards the male. As the train was reaching them, she was able to pull the male out of the wheelchair and they both fell back onto the ground.

"The male suffered a leg injury that was tended to immediately by Officer Delgado (who had arrived to assist) and Officer Urrea."

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/lodipolice/posts/10158490063248864]]

The post continued: "The 66-year-old male was ultimately transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another and her actions prevented a tragedy today.

"We are extremely proud of Officer Erika Urrea and her heroism."

Absolutely incredible bravery! Well done, Officer Urrea!

Dramatic bodycam footage shows the moment a police officer in Sacramento, California pulls a man to safety from an oncoming train after his wheelchair got stuck on the tracks on Wednesday morning.

Erica Urrea spotted the man in question, who appeared to be stuck on the tracks, CNN reports. As the railroad crossing arms began to rise, Urrea acted swiftly, decisively and bravely: jumping out of her patrol car, running to the man's aid and pulling him from his wheelchair and off the tracks just in time. A train whips by barely five seconds later.

Urrea's body camera captured the entire rescue, which took 45 seconds.

You can watch the incredibly dramatic footage right here:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/DJZdRvxw-YXhMkIor.mp4||DJZdRvxw]]

Lodi Police Department took to Facebook to issue a statement on regarding the incident. It reads;

"On 08/12/2020 at around 844 AM, Officer Urrea was in the area of Lodi Ave and the railroad tracks when she saw a male in a wheelchair who appeared to be stuck on the tracks. She noticed that the railroad crossing arms started to come down and saw that a train was approaching. She immediately exited her patrol vehicle and began running towards the male. As the train was reaching them, she was able to pull the male out of the wheelchair and they both fell back onto the ground. The male suffered a leg injury that was tended to immediately by Officer Delgado (who had arrived to assist) and Officer Urrea. The 66-year-old male was ultimately transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another and her actions prevented a tragedy today. We are extremely proud of Officer Erika Urrea and her heroism."

[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/lodipolice/posts/10158490063248864]]

Per CNN, police have not released the identity of the man in question, who is reported as being 66 years old.

A disturbing incident at a Miami dance studio has sparked outrage after a man was caught on video sniffing the seat where an underage girl had been sitting moments earlier.

The unsettling footage, which has gone viral on social media, shows a young girl sitting on a couch decorated with several pillows.

A few seconds into the clip, she stands up and walked away. Almost immediately, a man enters the room, appearing to be on a phone call.

He checks to see if there's anyone else around before bending down and quickly burying his face in the now-vacated couch. He then walks away.

A video online shows a man walking into a dance studio and sticking his nose in the couch cushion where an underage girl had just been sitting. Credit: X

Many people were left furious after the video went viral on social media and demanded that the police take action.

"That’s disgusting on so many levels," one person reacted, while another questioned: "What in the actual hell. That’s creepy as hell, but what will the charge be?? I’m genuinely asking.. or will he just be banned from going there again?"

A third added: "What makes it worse is the sheer blatancy of that sniff…he just went head first right into it on that one, not an ounce of subtlety or anything FFS."

The incident took place on Tuesday night as the dance studio was winding down for the evening. According to TMZ, a local dance studio owner immediately contacted authorities to report his behavior.

Miami Springs Police Chief Matthew Castillo has confirmed that officers reviewed the video footage and found the man's actions to be "strange" and highly inappropriate.

In a statement, the cop emphasized that they have since identified the man and are now working with prosecutors to determine if any criminal charges should be pursued.

He also disclosed that they are aware of his whereabouts, although his name has not been publicly released.

Police are working with prosecutors to determine if criminal charges are warranted. Credit: X

Many online users are calling for stricter safety protocols and increased surveillance in dance studios to ensure the protection of young students.

"Lock them up and throw away the key he should be nowhere near children, anyone that wants to work with children needs to be investigated very closely that goes for men and women," one person declared.

A second chimed in: "This is disturbing, Authorities getting involved is the right move, no space for this kind of behavior, especially around kids."

Featured image credit: X

A man has been flooded with praise after he risked his own life to save a man in a wheelchair who fell onto train tracks.

Footage of the heroic act was posted on Instagram on August 4, where it unsurprisingly went viral, garnering over 147K likes at the time of writing.

The video, which was filmed in New York, was captioned: "This afternoon in Union Square a man in a wheelchair somehow ended up on the subway tracks.

"Luckily, a Good Samaritan jumped down and rescued the man (and his wheelchair) about 10 seconds before the train came into the station. Huge shoutout to whoever the guy is who jumped down to help!"

Watch the good samaritan save the man's life below: 

 

The comments section of the video was subsequently flooded with praise for the man.

One Instagram user wrote: "New Yorkers are the absolutely best people in the world."

Credit: Instagram

A second added: "Wow it's 2021. You would think the MTA would have some type of technology to let the train drivers have a live feed of the tracks."

Credit: Instagram

A third wrote: "Faith in Humanity Restored."

Credit: Instagram

While a fourth added: "Omg that was to f-ing close! I breathed a huge sigh of relief. New Yorkers are a different breed [sic]."

Credit: Instagram

Meanwhile, another video of a train track incident also recently went viral on Twitter when a car was filmed speeding along a track as its driver tried to evade the police.

It was posted to Twitter on July 15 with the caption: "Man was tekking from the police on the tracks."

Watch the viral video below: 

Reacting to the three-second clip, one Twitter user wrote: "you're mad to think its took someone this long to pull a gta move like this [sic]."

A second joked: "Appalling. He indicated left and went right!"

A third wrote: "the Uber driver just said it's a shortcut."

Featured image credit: Alamy / Stefano Politi Markovina

A disturbing video that shows an under-clothed black woman in a wheelchair "harassed" by transit police has gone viral.

Richie Goldstein claims to have come across white members of the New Jersey Transit Police Department targeting a disabled seemingly homeless woman named Gina in Penn Station, Newark, on Saturday and uploaded three videos to social media to draw attention to the apparent injustice.

The footage went viral, collecting thousands of likes and retweets, and has been named as yet another example of "police brutality" and "ableism" by users on social media.

In one video, a visibly upset Gina is seen attempting to get away from a police officer as he holds the back of her chair outside of a McDonald's.

Surrounded by police, she leans down to pick up a parcel from the floor and screams "get off of me", desperately pulling her skirt over to maintain her dignity.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/sexmahoney/status/1000504336957534209]]

In another, she struggles to wheel her chair away as one officer stands in front of her, kicks her wheelchair to stop her going any further and tells her to "stop" what she's doing. "Stop nothing," she shouts back at him.

Goldstein has claimed that the transit police eventually "backed off" and called the emergency medical services. They then checked her over and let her go.

"After they backed off because we were filming, random Black people would walk right up in between the cops and this woman and ask 'Which way to the bathroom?', or something, just so they could shield her body with theirs for a few seconds. Not a single white person did anything," he wrote.

The video has been condemned by people on social media, who claim it is another example of the huge racial disparities when it comes to how US police treat people.

"This whole ordeal is totally uncalled for and they should get their badges taken away. You don't do that to ANYONE," wrote @Its_Ya_Boi_Ti, while @lindasalcfas commented saying: "This was so uncalled for."

However, others have questioned the video, asking for clear details about the situation. Twitter user @hotincleveland wrote: "Why were they interacting with her at all? Did they just start harassing her out of the blue? The context is unclear. All I see is her cussing up a storm and them treating her like she's a criminal."

Both Richie Goldstein and the New Jersey Transit Police Department have been contacted for comment and had not replied at the time this article was published.