On Dec. 22, 1984, four black teenagers approached electronics specialist Bernhard Goetz, 37, on the New York City subway. After one of them said, “Give me five dollars,” Goetz pulled out a five-shot revolver and opened fire, injuring all four. Of these, one suffered a severed spinal cord, paralyzing him.

A subway commuter who helped an ex-Marine restrain an agitated man aboard a Manhattan subway last year testified that he tried to convince the veteran to loosen his grip around the man’s neck.