A Long Island Rail Road conductor is seeking $1 million in damages after a drunken passenger assaulted him on the westbound train after .
Luke Beharry, a 31-year-old train conductor from Coram, filed a federal suit more than a year after he was attacked, according to Beharry's New York City lawyer Michael D. Flynn.
The train was in the Speonk area when Anthony N. Llanes, 28, went "ballistic" and struck the conductor in the head. Llanes was arrested at the Mastic-Shirley station and charged with second-degree assault on a transit employee, a felony.
The incident was reported to MTA's central control office at 9:52 p.m.
Two MTA police, who were supposed to be patrolling the train for post-parade foolery, de-boarded the train in East Hampton Village to handle another drunken passenger, Flynn said.
"The railroad has a responsibility to give a safe work environment," Flynn said on Tuesday.
The suit has been filed against the Long Island Rail Road, which is Beharry's employer, the MTA, which owns and operates the LIRR, and the man who struck Beharry. "We believe these three entities share a responsibility."
An MTA spokesperson did not immediately return a call for comment.
Beharry missed three months of work after receiving a concussion, his attorney said.
Llanes took a plea deal where the felony was dismissed and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. According to court records, he received community service and three years probation in July 2011. He is currently in First District Court on a violation of probation.
Raymond Lang, a Hauppauge-based attorney, declined to comment.
Flynn said the MTA and LIRR have to do a better job of reining in the problems after the Montauk parade, which on March 20, 2011 still started in the early afternoon and led to .
This past year, the Montauk Friends of Erin , after requests to the MTA to cancel inbound trains later in the day were denied.
Joseph Bloecker, the president of the Friends of Erin said, "This is exactly what the Friends of Erin complain about. We're just glad it didn't happen in Montauk."
Llanes had allegedly been causing a problem earlier and Beharry had calmed him down, but when he turned his back to help another passenger with a ticket problem, he was struck, according to Flynn.
Flynn said conductors have no expertise in how to deal with drunken passengers. "They have a uniform and a hat, so they are a target," he said.
"If they are going to control Penn Station and keep the booze out because of all the assaults on conductors . . .then they have to control this too," Flynn said referring to the .
"It's a license for wildness," Flynn said of the returning trains that are "packed full" of people who had been drinking at or after the St. Patrick's parade. In fact, the . Alcoholic beverages are not allowed on the trains. Still, he said, "They must keep safeguards present."
About 130 law enforcement officers were on patrol in Montauk for the parade thanks to help from other agencies, including all of the East End towns and villages, the New York State Troopers, the state parks police, the MTA Police, and Suffolk County police, and county sheriff's office.
