Four Swedish police officers on vacation in New York City rushed to the aid of a panicked train conductor trying to break up a fight between two homeless men on Wednesday.
The officers were on their way to see Les Misérables on Broadway when the train conductor asked if there were any police officers on the train over the intercom, the New York Post reported.
View this video on YouTube
BuzzFeed News has reached out to the person who filmed the video for comment.
The officers restrained the two men, one of whom calmed down quickly and was left alone. The other screamed "I can't breathe!" And, "You're hurting my arms!" The officers then appeared to adjust their grip on the man.
The officers repeated, "Calm down sir, it's going to be OK." When the man stopped screaming they asked, "Are you injured?" He responded, "No."
The officers then waited for the New York Police to arrive to escort the two unidentified men elsewhere. The officers continued to ask the men how they were feeling and if they were OK.
"We came here for vacation; we've been here one day," one of the officers, 25-year-old Markus Asberg, told the Post. "We're no heroes, just tourists."
As the video circulated on the internet, people took to Twitter to commend the Swedish officers and reflect on the methods of subduing perpetrators commonly used by American police.
#Swedishcops show the #NYPD how not kill people, eg. by treating people with respect. http://t.co/nLskhQJI0K
Some suggested the NYPD should take lessons from the Swedish Cops.
Maybe the #NYPD should learn from the #swedishcops on how to subdue a situation like what happened. Maybe less people would die...
Others thought they should just be replaced by them.
Maybe #nypd should just hire #swedishcops. It would be more expensive but probably nobody would die due to #roidrage and #racism.
Still, some were not impressed.
Excited for the day when people aren’t surprised by a video of cops doing their jobs well
It looks like the NYPD might have taken the tweeters' advice after all, as Police Commissioner William Bratton met with the Swedish cops Friday afternoon.
NYPD @CommissBratton Met With Swedish Cops Who Broke Up Fight On 6 Train http://t.co/2Y9XPfck0M
It was not reported what the meeting consisted of, but people seemed to hope he was asking for pointers.