Cop Doused With Rubbing Alcohol, Threatened With Fire In MTA Station

HARLEM, NY - A man was arrested after throwing rubbing alcohol on a police officer and threatening to light him on fire inside a subway station in Harlem early Tuesday, authorities said.

James Murphy, 58, of Manhattan, was charged with assault, resisting arrest, tampering with physical evidence and other offenses after the altercation about 2 a.m. on the southbound 2,3 platform inside the 135th Street and Lenox Avenue station, police said.

Murphy threw the rubbing alcohol on a plainclothes officer and threatened the cop with a lighter in his hand but never followed through with the threat, police said.

Murphy was arrested about 20 minutes later inside the same subway station, police said.

“He resisted and was combative, but they were able to arrest him without incident,” a spokesperson for the NYPD said.

The police officer who was doused with rubbing alcohol was evaluated at a nearby hospital and reported no serious injuries.

Murphy boasts a slew of prior convictions according to the New York Post and is “known to the department,” police said.

When asked for his address, Murphy said his address was 390 9th Ave., a post office address that some of New York’s homeless use to retrieve their mail.