Video shows woman falsely accuse Black teen of stealing cellphone

NEW YORK — A white woman falsely accused a Black teen of stealing her cellphone before tackling and grabbing him in a New York City hotel lobby over the weekend.

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New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison posted additional surveillance video Wednesday on Twitter, asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the woman. The woman in question has spoken to CNN via phone this week, but her identity was not revealed at the time.

The woman confronts Keyon Harrold Jr. ,14, the son of Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold Sr., at the Arlo Hotel Saturday, a widely viewed video shows.

Keyon Harrold Sr. posted video of the heated exchange with the woman who later tackled his son during the attack, WCBS reported. Harrold Sr. said he was also scratched.

“Are you kidding me? You feel like there’s only one iPhone made in the world?” Harrold Sr. said in the video.

The woman can be heard saying: “I’m not letting him walk away with my phone!”

A hotel manager tries to intervene. Shortly after the altercation, an Uber driver returned to the hotel with the woman’s phone. She had left it in his car.

“This is unacceptable, unacceptable. On a day when I’m just trying to have a good time with my son, right here. Unacceptable,” Harrold Sr. said.

The hotel apologized to the Harrolds. The woman has not, WCBS reported.

“We’re deeply disheartened about the recent incident of baseless accusation, prejudice, and assault against an innocent guest of Arlo Hotel,” the hotel said on social media.

Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the attack.

“This is racism. Plain and simple. It would be horrific at any age, but it’s especially offensive that it happened to a child,” de Blasio said on social media. “To Keyon Harrold Jr. and his family: I am so sorry this happened to you. Her behavior was an affront to our city’s values.”

On Monday, the Harrolds attorney Benjamin Crump asked the district attorneys office to file assault and battery charges against the woman.

“As this year of racial awareness is drawing to a close, it’s deeply troubling that incidents like this one, in which a Black child is viewed as and treated like a criminal, continue to happen,” read the statement.

New York City police said a harassment complaint has been filed. The office is “thoroughly investigating” the incident, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said.

Earlier in the year, a white woman was charged with filing a false report after calling 911 and saying she was being threatened by “an African American man” in Central Park after he asked her to leash her dog. The incident led lawmakers to pass a law that makes it easier to sue someone who calls police “without reason” because of their background, including race.

“There are thousands of Black men sitting in prison who have been falsely accused,” Harrold said. “That’s why we have to address incidents like this now, before they become life altering, life impacting issues that negatively and devastatingly affect Black people.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group