The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority met opposition on Wednesday when they voted to spend 250 million dollars of its budget on 500 additional transit officers.

A minimum of seven of the protesters rallying against additional police officers in the subway was removed from the scene and several others got summonses for disorderly conduct after they interrupted the MTA board meeting.  The protestors say that additional officers will mean a bigger target on black and low-income people.  They asked for the funds to go towards better services.

Sarah Walker, amongst many speakers, took the podium and asked whether more cops will address the problems that the MTA is facing:

“Does it help the trains run on time? Does it fix the infrastructure? Does it clean the cars? Does it boost ridership? Does it improve accessibility for disabled folks? Does it make the subway affordable for low-income people? Because these are just some of the real problems that the MTA could be addressing with the $250 million.”

“The reality is that for people of color, poor people and homeless people, more cops mean heightened danger using the subway,” she continued after noting several incidents of policing that were captured on camera this year.

In October, several officers drew a weapon at a suspected fare evader through the window of a subway car before storming inside. During the same week, a black teen was seen a video gone viral being physically assaulted by an NYPD officer in a subway fight.

MTA chairman Pat Foye says that more police officers are necessary in the subway due to increased hate crimes, robberies, harassment, and assaults.

“We believe that’s going to help us provide a safe and secure environment for our customers and our employees and that’s our focus,” Foye said Wednesday. He says the new hires will work under the MTA, not the NYPD.

Currently, MTA staffs 783 officers and the additional officers will aid in filling vacant roles and retirements which totals 200, according to Foye.