The MTA worker who faked an attack at a Queens subway station, even slashing his own hands, said he had a “plausible reason” for the elaborate hoax.
In an interview Tuesday, 54-year-old Henry Herring revealed that he faked the attack to take time off to care for his sick fiancée, according to the New York Post.
“I know what I did looks like something very horrible, whatever,” the Brooklyn man admitted. “But I have a very good reason for what I did.”
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Herring, a transit system cleaner suspended without pay after being hired since January, claimed he staged the attack to take time off to care for his fiancée, who had undergone two brain surgeries and suffered brain leakage.
He said he visited her daily at Methodist Hospital after work. “I did something stupid. At the end of the day, I did it for someone I love,” he said.
“What I did was stupid. I admit. It was very deplorable. At the end of the day, I wanted to be there for a family member,” he added.
“I didn’t think,” he admitted. “I was a poser, pretentious — all of that. The thing is I want to be there for someone I care about. End of the day I had a real good reason for what I did. I’m not crazy.”
Herring was charged last week with falsely reporting an incident after claiming he was attacked while cleaning a train at the 179th Street subway station in Jamaica around 3 a.m. on July 31.
Surveillance cameras, however, revealed the hoax, according to a criminal complaint.
“My goal was to have the summer off because it was too hot down there,” he allegedly told police, according to court records — a claim Herring denied.
“No, I didn’t say that,” he insisted Tuesday. “The cop said that. ‘You just wanted the summer off, didn’t you?’ I was shaking my head. I was distraught. The cop I was talking to … he said it came from a three-star chief, that’s the MTA transit police. They gave him that, not me.”
He admitted he wanted time off but, with less than two years on the job, he didn’t have enough accrued leave for a paid absence.
“End of the day we get one sick day a month,” he said. “I had used mine up. I had no choice.”
Herring admitted he had five unused sick days when he faked the attack but assumed he’d need them for physical rehab appointments.
He stated that he would do it again, but next time, he would be smarter and avoid getting caught by surveillance cameras.
“I would do it all over again. If I had to do it again, to be there for her, I would,” he said. “I gotta admit I would. I’d probably go about it better, [because] I know there’s cameras down there.”
Herring, who has a “F–k the Police” tattoo on his arm, has served two stints in state prison for robbery and gun charges. However, he claims to have turned his life around, earning both associates and bachelor’s degrees.
“I’m not unemployable,” he said. “I have two college degrees.”
He clarified that he has an associate degree and is currently 13 credits shy of completing his bachelor’s degree, which he is actively working on.
“I’m employable, but at the same time I want that to be my career, the MTA,” Herring said. “I have nothing bad to say about the MTA. I muffed up. At the end of the day I apologize to everybody, my MTA family.”
He explained that between caring for his fiancée, who is recovering from brain surgeries, and undergoing physical therapy for injuries from a car accident in April, he desperately needed a break.
His fiancée, who works at a city migrant shelter, was granted a leave of absence from July 5 to Sept. 27, according to documents Herring provided. He also shared medical records indicating he had a CAT scan and other procedures following the April 19 car accident.
However, he declined to provide her name or other personal details about their relationship.
“If I had a chance to right this wrong, I would,” he said of his slashing ruse. “I love my job. I love the MTA. They gave me a chance,” Herring said. “I messed up. I wasn’t thinking. I suggest you don’t try it.”
