Metro

‘Groper’ shot

An off-duty transit cop shot and wounded an accused subway groper after a violent struggle on a Harlem platform yesterday, police said.

The 40-year-old officer was chatting on an uptown D-line platform at West 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue at around 12:30 p.m. when an 18-year-old girl yelled that she had just been groped on the mezzanine level.

Police said a 13-year-old girl also started yelling, “Mommy, the man groped me!” The girl’s hysterical mother shouted “Police!” at a station agent standing nearby, cops said.

Both teens — who were groped on the buttocks — were attacked by 22-year-old Jacob Sanford of The Bronx, law-enforcement sources said.

Police said that at some point, a witnesss yelled, “You pervert, why don’t you grab someone your own age!”

The off-duty officer rushed over to the women and identified himself, and the 18-year-old quickly pointed out the alleged perv sitting on a bench between the uptown C and D tracks, police said. The officer told the mother of the young teen to leave and call 911 for back-up.

The cop identified himself to Sanford and ordered him to the floor, placing the suspect’s arm behind him, police said.

Witnesses told cops that they then saw Sanford pick up the officer as if he was going to flip or body-slam him, cops said. Both the express and local train arrived, and at this point the cop believed he would be tossed onto the tracks, officials said.

During the tussle, the off-duty cop’s gun went off, and Sanford was struck in the lower back, cops said.

Witnesses later told cops they heard the off-duty officer scream during the scuffle, “Police! Get down! Get down!”

Sanford was rushed to Harlem Hospital in stable condition. Police said he has 19 prior arrests. He was later charged with forcible touching, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.