NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An off-duty NYPD officer was attacked and slashed at the Union Square subway station Tuesday.

Police say the officer was leaving the station around noon when he walked by the 42-year-old suspect, Benjamin Mazyck.

The two exchanged words, and the officer walked away.

Police say that's when Mazyck attacked, punching and slashing the officer in the neck with a broken pair of scissors.

Officers on duty at the station chased Mazyck onto a train, and he was taken into custody.

Passenger safety advocates are demanding change.

"This station's had a lot of incidents of late, so something here is going very wrong, and they've got to get this fixed right away," said Charlton D'souza, president of Passengers United.

The off-duty officer was not seriously injured.