Darius McCollum Arrested again

Jersey_Mike wrote:He need to move to a new City like Philly or Chicago. He's too well known in NYC and his crazy antics don't work any more

Yeah, he'd love Chicago. Transit cops around here are too busy harassing railfans for taking pictures of CTA trains (and doing so without any violation of the official policy I might add), so I'm sure he'd be able to pull his "steal a train stunt" here with no problems...

We've got railfans, foamers & then there is Darius

Hawaii would be a good destination - do they have railroads there? Or how about Fiji, American Samoa, etc.

Hello everyone. Im curious because im not real familiar with this guy or his history, but before he developed a criminal record, could he have gotten a job on the subways or railroad. Would there have been anything stopping him either mentally or physically or whatever? Would the MTA hire this guy now even with a record or would it not be a good idea at all? The guy obviously loves to be on transit or railroad property. I guess maybe I feel bad for the guy but then again like I said Im not real familiar with the man.

I'm not psychologist, but Darius McCullom has these urges to operate railroad equipment because he suffers from something called Asperger's Syndrome (similar to Autism). I believe Asperger's affects males more than females and can manifest itself in any hobby or endeavour. I once read that it is now believed that Sir Isaac Newton had Asperger's because in all of the papers and information that can be gathered on him, it appears that Newton had an unusual preoccupation with mathematics to the point that his social skills were almost nil. He never married or had few if any friendships, and appeared to have no other interests. This is a 'red flag' with those afflicted with Aspergers. They 'fixate' on a particular subject and their lives seemingly revolve around their fixation.

I believe the idea of giving McCollum a job was considered at one time, but now that he appears to be 'too far gone' (including all of the criminal charges) all bets are off.

On a related note, I once had a co-worker who could rattle off baseball stats going back to the 1920s! You just mention a date in history, and if it was during baseball season, this guy would give you the score and the line-up of players! In all other respects this guy couldn't figure out how to make toast. He was a stockroom attendent, but his mind was filled with incredible minuetia on baseball. If that's not Asperger's I don't know what is.

BMT wrote:

Hello everyone. Im curious because im not real familiar with this guy or his history, but before he developed a criminal record, could he have gotten a job on the subways or railroad. Would there have been anything stopping him either mentally or physically or whatever? Would the MTA hire this guy now even with a record or would it not be a good idea at all? The guy obviously loves to be on transit or railroad property. I guess maybe I feel bad for the guy but then again like I said Im not real familiar with the man.

I'm not psychologist, but Darius McCullom has these urges to operate railroad equipment because he suffers from something called Asperger's Syndrome (similar to Autism). I believe Asperger's affects males more than females and can manifest itself in any hobby or endeavour. I once read that it is now believed that Sir Isaac Newton had Asperger's because in all of the papers and information that can be gathered on him, it appears that Newton had an unusual preoccupation with mathematics to the point that his social skills were almost nil. He never married or had few if any friendships, and appeared to have no other interests. This is a 'red flag' with those afflicted with Aspergers. They 'fixate' on a particular subject and their lives seemingly revolve around their fixation.

I believe the idea of giving McCollum a job was considered at one time, but now that he appears to be 'too far gone' (including all of the criminal charges) all bets are off.

On a related note, I once had a co-worker who could rattle off baseball stats going back to the 1920s! You just mention a date in history, and if it was during baseball season, this guy would give you the score and the line-up of players! In all other respects this guy couldn't figure out how to make toast. He was a stockroom attendent, but his mind was filled with incredible minuetia on baseball. If that's not Asperger's I don't know what is.

Like any mental disfunction, there are levels of severity. Most people seem to think it's one size fits all, but people like Darius have it at a high level. There are some of us who have it who can function normaily. I have it, but it's extreamly mild, which means I basicly have control over it from simple will power. Yea, I have my moments, but then we all get like that once and a while. I've dated, I've got friends outside of the rail community.

I have Asperger's, and I feel really bad for this guy.

I feel bad for the guy. Seriously. He probably isnt a bad guy other then the fact he likes to run trains or impersonate conductors or agents. Hey , we all need a hobby

I have a younger brother with autism, and am familiar with Asperger's. They can appear perfectly normal to everyone. I would think he has a good defense for his behavior, and feel bad about my earlier post.

Some people, for various reasons (more below), vehemently oppose any suggestion that Darius McCollum be hired by the TA in any capacity whatsoever. Here I would like to offer a reasoned counterpoint to the most commonly used arguments against hiring McCollum in any capacity:

• McCollum poses, or would pose, a safety risk to riders. Unless "guilty until proven innocent" is the new standard for judging in the U.S., there is no reason to claim that McCollum poses, or would pose, a safety risk to riders. McCollum does not have any record of putting any riders in harm's way. In fact, he's even helped riders in at least one safety-sensitive situation in the past. Furthermore, McCollum need not necessarily be placed in a safety-sensitive position in the TA.
• McCollum would represent a liability risk for the TA. I don't see why this would be the case. No matter what position he was placed in, he would be required to pass the same checks and tests other TA employees are put through before he could start working. He would also be subject to supervision and oversight (as well as random checks and tests if applicable) while working. If McCollum passes the same checks and tests that are used to screen other TA employees, wouldn't that more than counter any unsubstantiated personal opinions that McCollum is somehow unqualified for whatever position he was placed in?
• McCollum would be incapable of just doing his job and following orders. He'd drift throughout the system and do whatever he wanted to do. This is unsubstantiated. In fact, if I recall correctly, McCollum has in the past 'worked' in specific roles for extended periods of time, even without specific orders to follow.
• McCollum would continue to perform various unauthorized duties unrelated to his job and gain unauthorized access to secure areas. In short, he would be unable to restrain himself. Sure, McCollum has a history of performing unauthorized duties and entering secure areas without authorization. But as a non-TA employee, basically everything he could have done was unauthorized. McCollum has in the past 'worked' in specific roles for extended periods of time, even without specific orders to follow. This would actually seem to indicate that he is good at restraining himself to only performing duties related to a specific job.
• McCollum has defied authorities when instructed to desist. He has already established he refuses to follow orders. In each past incident, if I recall correctly, he only defied authorities' instructions after a significant amount of time had passed without direct supervision from said authorities. And in each case, he only defied said authorities' instructions in order to get back to 'work' in the transit system. Both of the above issues would be rendered moot if he were hired by the TA in some - any - capacity. He would be subject to direct supervision, and he would already be working in the transit system, so he wouldn't need to defy any instructions in order to get back to work in the transit system.

Am I missing anything?

I remember something about him sneeking into a tower and cuasing a train to slip a switch. If it wasn't him it was some one simmliar, so there your harm.

Kamen Rider wrote:I remember something about him sneeking into a tower and cuasing a train to slip a switch. If it wasn't him it was some one simmliar, so there your harm.

That was something authorities suspected and falsely accused him of doing. McCollum denied doing so, and his version of events was later vindicated.

Per the Harper's Magazine article:

The exception came when A.D.A. Dougherty suggested that Darius might have had something to do with the train's emergency stop. The absurd, pejorative idea that he would ever compromise service quality and passenger safety disturbed Darius. "That's exactly what I'm trained not to do," he said. He explained that stopping the train would have required both override permission from the City Hall control tower and access to the switch room in the back of the Fifty-seventh Street tower. Neither was available to him--though, as he admitted, he probably could have guessed the location of the switch-room key. City Hall later confirmed Darius's story, and evidence indicated that he had never been in the switch room. His theory of the event--a wheel-detector device had tripped the train's emergency brake because the train had exceeded the posted speed--was later determined to be the most plausible.

I would point out that a number of ex-hackers have been hired as security consultants. Not all of them, and some customers would never consider hiring them, but I support the idea of the MTA hiring Darius. I betcha he would make a great historian for an MTA Museum. That would allow him to feed his obsession in a way that ends up being productive. And it would keep him out of the way of operations.

I am not sure if I am mixing up Darius with another person: Was he the one who drove a subway as a minor, only discovered for not stopping at stations properly? If yes, then, again if IIRC, I believe he did apply to be an engineer when he came of age, but could not pass the physical requirements. Please correct me if I am wrong.

It is too bad that someone with such enthusisam cannot get a job doing what he loves.

Impersonating federal agents, transit and railroad workers and hijacking a subway train is not enthusiasm, it's criminal!

hrfcarl wrote:I am not sure if I am mixing up Darius with another person: Was he the one who drove a subway as a minor, only discovered for not stopping at stations properly? If yes, then, again if IIRC, I believe he did apply to be an engineer when he came of age, but could not pass the physical requirements. Please correct me if I am wrong.

It is too bad that someone with such enthusisam cannot get a job doing what he loves.

As far as I've read, McCollum drove the train and made all the stops perfectly. No one knew anything was amiss. He was only discovered - and arrested - when he walked back through the train at the last stop to start the return journey uptown.

As far as I've read, McCollum did apply to work for the TA on multiple occasions, but was turned down each time. I am unaware which position(s) he may have applied for at the TA. It's definitely quite sad that McCollum hasn't been able to get a job with the TA doing what he obviously loves, and is obviously qualified, to do.

RussNelson wrote:I would point out that a number of ex-hackers have been hired as security consultants. Not all of them, and some customers would never consider hiring them, but I support the idea of the MTA hiring Darius. I betcha he would make a great historian for an MTA Museum. That would allow him to feed his obsession in a way that ends up being productive. And it would keep him out of the way of operations.

Yep, with Frank Abagnale being one of the most famous cases-in-point.

I'm sure McCollum would be more than knowledgeable enough to be a great historian for an MTA Museum, the problem is more that I don't think McCollum would be interested in being a historian at a museum, even a transit museum. (I could be wrong though, it definitely wouldn't hurt for the MTA to make him an offer and see if he's interested...) My sense is McCollum is more (solely?) interested in directly helping in the transit system...

RearOfSignal wrote:Impersonating federal agents, transit and railroad workers and hijacking a subway train is not enthusiasm, it's criminal!

He never impersonated a federal agent. He flashed a bogus "National Justice Bureau" ID card. I don't even think a "National Justice Bureau" exists. If the "National Justice Bureau" doesn't even exist, how could he be impersonating a federal agent?

McCollum also never 'hijacked' a subway train. "Hijacking" means "to take over by force." This is something McCollum has never done.

Obviously, McCollum did pretend to be a transit/railroad worker on numerous occasions, and this is why he has been arrested and been in jail so many times. But if he were actually hired by the TA and became an actual transit/railroad worker, wouldn't that solve this problem? He'd no longer need to pretend to be a transit worker; he'd be a legitimate transit worker!