A foursome of Swedish boy-band-lookalike cops, on their way to a performance of Les Miserables, became instant celebrities when they separated two men fighting on the New York subway.
“We came here for vacation; we’ve been here one day. We’re no heroes, just tourists,” 25-year-old rookie Uppsala policeman Marcus Asberg told the NY Post.
4 Swedish Police on vacation break up a NYC subway fight http://t.co/zgsORDOUNypic.twitter.com/zE1KyGe6Ji#PoliceLivesMatter#ThinBlueLine
— Mary Forbes (@MaryForbes14) April 23, 2015
The four men noticed that a whole train carriage of uncomfortable New Yorkers rapidly emptied at Bleecker Street Station. As they entered it, they saw one apparently-homeless man beating up another.
“We thought maybe someone needed help,” said Samuel Kvarzell, 25, from Stockholm’s Police Department.
“The attacker was making a lot of noise, yelling on the train at apparently no one,” a witness told the Post. “The other guy did nothing.”
“One of the guys was on top of the other guy, so we separated them,” said Asberg.
“He looked hurt; he was bleeding from the mouth,” he said of the apparent victim. “I was trying to keep him calm.”
As a crowd of onlookers gathered, the out-of-town cops kept the public under control and provided first aid to the victim until the NYPD arrived.
“It was pretty routine,” said Eric Jansberger. “We came just to make sure no one got hurt.”
The four arrived on time for the start of the award-winning musical about 19th century France, and after producers found out about the incident, the young men were offered a backstage tour. The NYPD also contacted the four to present them with a gift to commemorate their selfless act.
True professionals who answered the call- A pleasure to meet our Swedish police counterparts: http://t.co/kTxDUt3zospic.twitter.com/3IGDLtjp6q
— Chief Joseph Fox (@NYPDTransit) April 24, 2015
But one person remained nonplussed at the fuss over the tall, muscular Norsemen. Kvarzell’s Stockholm colleague Kia Samrell says she’s been flooded by calls from all over the world asking about how he grew up to became this week’s subway hero.
“When somebody does something good here, we give them cake and a medal. But it’s not really a big deal,” she told the Post. “The story is bigger there than here.’’