Faux safety

Frankly, I don't really object to this on the grounds of civil liberties, the right to privacy, etc. I know I'll face the ire of the left side of the blogosphere for saying it, but by default you give up that right, to a certain extent, when you enter the subway system. You're under near constant surveillance, in one way shape or form, throughout New York City -- cameras in the stations, on buildings, at traffic lights, at toll booths -- so what's the big deal with opening your backpack?

But I do object on practical terms. Randomly checking bags in a subway system as immense as New York City's is simply impractical and wastes the time of officers that could be better spent doing their usual patrol jobs and keeping vigilant. Looking, for instance, for people wearing heavy coats on summer days (well, in New York, that's more common than you might think, but generally the homeless announce themselves in all manner of ways).

Pause here, while we ponder the essential weirdness of that story.

He told BBC News: "I heard lots of shouts of 'get down, get down'. I looked to my right and I saw an Asian man run on the train. As he ran on he half tripped."

He said the man was being pursued by three plainclothes officers who ran on just a few feet behind him.

The witness said one officer brought out a pistol in his left hand and "unloaded five shots into him". He said the shooting happened "five yards" away from him.

Asked what condition the man was in, Mr Whitby said: "He's dead ... I've just seen a man shot dead, I was distraught."

There was speculation the man may have been a would-be suicide bomber who had been followed by police. Mr Whitby said he did not see a bag, but the man had worn a bulky winter-style coat, and there may have been "something underneath it".

The odd thing is, having spent quite a bit of time on commuter trains and subways in New York this past week, I didn't find the mood particularly tense. So why this apparent salve to maintain a sense of "doing something" for the sake of ridership?