After widespread video of a white woman falsely accusing a black teenager of stealing her iPhone went viral, Manhattan prosecutors reportedly “thoroughly” investigated the incident. According to CNN, the white woman seen on the video as the attacker claims she was the one who was attacked and, after her sprawling report, says she is ready to speak to the police, but has not yet done so. Jazz musician Keyon Harrold posted the video clip of the incident on his Instagram account. Harrold and his son are now represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who posted a message on Twitter asking the prosecutor to bring charges against the nameless white woman.
“As this Racial Recognition Year draws to a close, it is deeply worrying that incidents like this involving a black child being viewed and treated as a criminal continue to occur. The hotel manager exacerbated the injustice and by default asked 14-year-old Keyon to prove his innocence. He documented that we have two judicial systems in America and that blacks will be treated as guilty until proven innocent. We urge Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. to bring assault and battery charges against this woman in order to send the message that hateful, racially motivated behavior is unacceptable. This is necessary to drive change. We are also calling for a civil rights investigation into the Arlo Hotel for its implicit bias in the treatment of Keyon. “
The New York Police Department told CNN that a harassment complaint has been filed at the Arlo SoHo Hotel. They said that after watching a surveillance video of the incident at the Arlo SoHo Hotel, investigators are ready to charge the white woman with assault and possibly grand theft or attempted robbery, according to Rodney Harrison, chief investigator for the NYPD.
CNN reported that the white woman, who says she is 22 years old, spoke to them on the phone and denied Harrold’s description of what happened. She claimed she requested the hotel staff surveillance video to find out who picked up her phone, which, incidentally, was left in an Uber shortly after that incident.
She then claims she reached out to someone else in the hotel lobby to “empty her pocket” before falsely accusing Keyon Harrold Jr. “Then things got a little more serious,” the woman said, referring to the interaction.
The nameless white woman claims she is ready to speak to investigators but has not yet done so. She said she had evidence but did not respond to numerous follow-up calls when asked.
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