“I’ve been confused,” Keyon Harrold Jr. said. “I mean, I don’t know what would have happened if my dad wasn’t there, honestly. These last few days, I’m still surprised. But I’m in there.”
She appeared with her father, Grammy-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold, with her mother Kat Rodriguez and her lawyer Ben Crump, calling for the Manhattan District Attorney to charge the woman.
The incident, which was recorded on mobile phone video, took place on Saturday in the lobby of the Arlo hotel, where the teenager and his father were staying as guests. The unidentified woman repeatedly demanded that he “return” her, apparently referring to her cell phone.
Watch the video posted on social media below:
The woman’s cell phone was later found in an Uber.
“For me, I was confused because I’ve never seen this lady and I didn’t know what to do right now,” Harrold Jr. said. “At first, I’d like to apologize. And two, I’d ask why would you do something like that to a kid who’s never met you?”
The video has gone viral and has sparked accusations of racial profiling against Harrold and his family.
Harrold, Sr., said that physically, the woman “was on top of him asking for his phone immediately” once they went down to the lobby.
“But after the video was cut and I mean, it basically tackled, scratched me and I was there to try to protect my little puppy,” he said. “And basically trying to get her away, take her away from my son. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if I wasn’t there to be with him.”
Look, the Harrold family talks to “GMA”:
She also said she was kicked out because the hotel rep “was basically next to her” about her son.
“I just wouldn’t stand it,” he said. “I’m still in shock, I’m still trying to believe, you know, it happened so quickly … It’s amazing that someone literally had the audacity to take on and wrongly accuse.”
Also speaking was Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said of the incident: “It’s racism. Simple and straightforward.”
“It would be horrible at any age, but it’s especially offensive for it to happen to a child,” he wrote on Twitter. “To Keyon Harrold Jr. and his family: I’m so sorry it happened to you. His behavior was an affront to the values of our city.”
This is racism. Simple and straightforward.
It would be horrible at any age, but it’s especially offensive for it to happen to a child.
A Keyon Harrold Jr. and his family: I’m very sorry it happened to you. His behavior was an affront to the values of our city. https://t.co/xuWRyHTJmW
– Major Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 29, 2020
Harrold said his son is still shaken by the incident.
“I wanted to know what his fault was,” Harrold said. “Basically, my conversations are to let this child know, you just know, you still live as you live. We have to do things. We have to change the narrative. We have to change the laws. We have to do things that allow you to be literally the American guy, under the age of 14 that you are, that you have rights. You have as many rights as anyone else walking the streets. “
Rodriguez, who was not present at the time, said he is still waiting to receive news from the woman, to whom he wants to introduce himself and explain himself.
“Fear arose because my son, if his father hadn’t been there, what would have happened to my son if the cops had been called,” he said. “When my son asked me,‘ Why me, mom? “It just hurts.
The confrontation sparked comparisons with recent incidents related to false accusations against blacks. In May, a black bird watcher pulled out the phone in Central Park and captured a white woman calling police to report that she was being threatened by “an African-American man.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is calling on Manhattan DA Cy Vance to file charges against the woman in the video.
“We want charges because we have to send a message because that has bigger social implications,” he said. “Think how many black men have been falsely accused by these Karens and end up losing their freedom and losing their lives sitting in jail.”
New York City police did not identify the woman, saying only there was a report of harassment for an incident Saturday inside the hotel. A Vance spokesman said the office “is thoroughly investigating this incident,” but did not go into detail.
Hotel management said in a post Sunday that they contacted Harrold and his son to apologize.
“We are deeply discouraged by the recent baseless indictment incident, prejudice and assault against an innocent Arlo Hotel guest,” they said on Facebook.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report).
MORE NEWS: Family warns other people of short visits after losing mother, father days before Christmas
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