A man caught jumping the turnstile at an East Harlem subway station pepper-sprayed NYPD cops moving in to arrest him early Wednesday, cops said.
The would-be fare beater had just jumped the turnstile at the 116th St. No. 6 stop when two cops on patrol stopped him about 3 a.m., police said.
As the cops approached, the man pulled out a cannister of pepper spray and spritzed the two officers in the face.
Their eyes burning, the cops managed to hold onto the fare beater until other officers arrived to take him into custody, cops said.
Charges against the fare beater were pending Wednesday.
The officers were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment.
The arrest comes as more than 1,000 additional NYPD officers and the National Guard has been sent into the city’s subway system to combat an uptick in violent crime.
