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Woman Falsely Accuses (and then Assaults) Teen for Stealing her iPhone - Later Discovers She Left It in an Uber (1 Viewer)

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Probably doesn’t deserve its own thread, but this story marries the “people accusing innocent black people of doing something wrong in public” theme (e.g., student sleeping in dorm lobby, guy raking his yard, Central Park birdwatcher, family barbecuing in park, etc.) with the inevitable “cancel culture” theme (once this woman’s identity is revealed). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find either thread using the search function.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9093685/Manhattan-DA-NYPD-investigating-SoHo-Karen-falsely-accused-black-teen-stealing-iPhone.html

Based on just the video, I kind of feel the hotel employee is getting a bad rap.  Not sure what else he could have done to deescalate the situation.  I think he just asked to see the phone so he could confirm it wasn’t hers. I don’t see that necessarily as taking her side in accusing the boy - seems more like a common sense way to arbitrate the dispute. But perhaps I’m missing something.  I guess he could have asked her to explain why she thought this boy had her phone.

 
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Did she accuse him of stealing her phone because he’s black?  I’m not sure I agree with that.  She is a ####### and should get a slap on the wrist for sure.  Couldn’t they have looked at a security camera?  

 
Did she accuse him of stealing her phone because he’s black?  I’m not sure I agree with that.  She is a ####### and should get a slap on the wrist for sure.  Couldn’t they have looked at a security camera?  
I’d really like to understand why she thought he stole her phone. It wasn’t like she set it down on a table in the lobby and he was in the area. She had left it in an Uber, so never had it with her when she entered the hotel. 

 
I’d really like to understand why she thought he stole her phone. It wasn’t like she set it down on a table in the lobby and he was in the area. She had left it in an Uber, so never had it with her when she entered the hotel. 
People will often spend a lot of time looking for glasses that are on their face. I wouldnt try to perry mason this part of it. 

 
I don't have an opinion on this situation because the video won't load for me.  But I wanted to chime in to say how awful the Daily Mail's website is.  Was it created by a seven year old or something?

 
I get the disrespect angle and the woman is out of control but all he had to do was unlock the phone to prove it was his.  It would have taken 15 seconds to resolve the whole situation.  In my opinion the father comes off as a big of jerk as she was.

 
I get the disrespect angle and the woman is out of control but all he had to do was unlock the phone to prove it was his.  It would have taken 15 seconds to resolve the whole situation.  In my opinion the father comes off as a big of jerk as she was.
I agree.  I don't blame the kid, because he's a kid.  The adults in this situation (using that term loosely) come off looking terrible.  

 
The hotel employee should have announced that he would break the phone in half and give part of it to each claimant. The one who agreed to let the other person take it whole is its true owner.
I don’t think that’s correct in the instance of the women being right.  If I think someone is stealing my phone I’m more concerned about criminals getting my info than I am about having to buy a new one. Given that choice I choose to break the phone.

 
If you just show the phone and move on you dont get to call Ben Crump. 
Has there been any reports on why the woman thought he stole it in the first place? I don't think the father handled it in the best way but I would likely be pretty defensive if some random person accused my son of stealing their phone without any reason. 

Edit: Oops. Was more of a general reply. Not necessarily replying to your comment.

 
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People will often spend a lot of time looking for glasses that are on their face. I wouldnt try to perry mason this part of it. 
:bag:

I do that.  My kids got me a ton of those string things that go around the glasses so they hang on your neck, but when I wear them, they make fun of me for being 'old'.  So I just walk around blind and run into things mostly.

 
Has there been any reports on why the woman thought he stole it in the first place? I don't think the father handled it in the best way but I would likely be pretty defensive if some random person accused my son of stealing their phone without any reason. 

Edit: Oops. Was more of a general reply. Not necessarily replying to your comment.
Yeah, I’m willing to give the dad somewhat of a pass here. The woman was already hysterical, and I think I’d be pretty defensive as well if a woman was screaming accusations at my son and demanding that he take his phone out of his case and show it to her - or telling a hotel employee to “get it from him.”

But I do think that the hotel employee was doing what he could to handle a challenging situation. 

 
I get the disrespect angle and the woman is out of control but all he had to do was unlock the phone to prove it was his.  It would have taken 15 seconds to resolve the whole situation.  In my opinion the father comes off as a big of jerk as she was.
The woman made a false accusation and attempted to either A) steal someone's phone, or B) assault a kid.

The father defended his son's rights.

There is no equivalency here.

 
Yeah, I’m willing to give the dad somewhat of a pass here. The woman was already hysterical, and I think I’d be pretty defensive as well if a woman was screaming accusations at my son and demanding that he take his phone out of his case and show it to her - or telling a hotel employee to “get it from him.”

But I do think that the hotel employee was doing what he could to handle a challenging situation. 
I don’t.  All he had to do was call the number. He didn’t do ####.  

 
I don’t.  All he had to do was call the number. He didn’t do ####.  
It's easy to state what we should do after the fact. A lot harder to act rationally and calm when someone is screaming at you and accusing you of something that is 100% false

 
I get the disrespect angle and the woman is out of control but all he had to do was unlock the phone to prove it was his.  It would have taken 15 seconds to resolve the whole situation.  In my opinion the father comes off as a big of jerk as she was.
The kid shouldn’t have to prove his phone is his just because some random crazy person says its not.

Also I think the father was under the impression that the woman put her hands on the kid (I can't tell from the video if that happened or not) 

 
The kid shouldn’t have to prove his phone is his just because some random crazy person says its not.

Also I think the father was under the impression that the woman put her hands on the kid (I can't tell from the video if that happened or not) 
Of course the kid shouldn't HAVE to prove it but just opening up the phone and showing the crazy chick that it wasn't hers would have taken 15 seconds.  If it were me I would just want to end the situation rather than escalate it.

 
I would have acted the same way if some out of control woman was accusing one of my kids of something. There is no way I am going to let her see the phone because I can guarantee, in the state she was in, she wouldn't have believed him and further accused him of changing the lock screen. Now I would have probably said, "We are going to stand here until the police arrive." 

The minute she touched my kid, it would have been over. 

 
As a hypothetical: what if the kid bumped into the woman, never apologized and then she reached for her phone immediately after the bump and noticed that it was missing? I could understand her actions then even though I still wouldn't defend them. If you've ever been in a situation where you have been pickpocketed (or like me, thought you were pickpocketed until you found your phone in another pocket) then you know that your emotions are pretty raw at that moment. I can see how her actions could be attributed to panic in the moment.

That is why it would be pretty foolish to cancel this women without knowing the whole story. Although I think it is almost always pretty foolish to cancel people because we all make mistakes.

 
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As a hypothetical: what if they kid bumped into the woman, never apologized then she reached for her phone immediately after the bump and noticed that it was missing? I could understand her actions then even though I still wouldn't defend them. If you've ever been in a situation where you have been pickpocketed (or like me, thought you were pickpocketed until you found your phone in another pocket) then you know that your emotions are pretty raw at that moment. I can see how her actions could be attributed to panic in the moment.

That is why it would be pretty foolish to cancel this women without knowing the whole story. Although I think it is almost always pretty foolish to cancel people because we all make mistakes.
If that happened Ben Crump would certainly be putting that out in the media. He is a pillar of honesty and you can always trust his word. 

 
As a hypothetical: what if the kid bumped into the woman, never apologized and then she reached for her phone immediately after the bump and noticed that it was missing? I could understand her actions then even though I still wouldn't defend them. If you've ever been in a situation where you have been pickpocketed (or like me, thought you were pickpocketed until you found your phone in another pocket) then you know that your emotions are pretty raw at that moment. I can see how her actions could be attributed to panic in the moment.

That is why it would be pretty foolish to cancel this women without knowing the whole story. Although I think it is almost always pretty foolish to cancel people because we all make mistakes.
Yes, I wondered at the very beginning of this thread what her explanation might be as to why she thought he took her phone. 

 
Of course the kid shouldn't HAVE to prove it but just opening up the phone and showing the crazy chick that it wasn't hers would have taken 15 seconds.  If it were me I would just want to end the situation rather than escalate it.
This

and it would’ve taken 2 seconds

 
It's easy to state what we should do after the fact. A lot harder to act rationally and calm when someone is screaming at you and accusing you of something that is 100% false
Yeah. Not sure how the guy would have been able to get her to provide her phone number and make the call while she is screaming at him. 

 
She was completely unhinged and there is no way I would have let her near my kid. I mean the dad said, "You don't think there is more than one Iphone like that?" I would have told her to call the cops and then watch her feel like a complete idiot when they arrived. 

I know everyone is saying just show her the lock screen. There is no way that lady would have taken that as truth. She believed something and nothing was going to change that. You can tell by her behavior. 

 
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She was completely unhinged and there is no way I would have let her near my kid. I mean the dad said, "You don't think there is more than one Iphone like that?" I would have told her to call the cops and then watch her feel like a complete idiot when they arrived. 

I know everyone is saying just show her the lock screen. There is no way that lady would have taken that as truth. She believed something and nothing was going to change that. You can tell by her behavior. 
She was already able to see that the case on the phone was different from hers (she told him to take the case off and show her the phone), so, yeah, I’m thinking that a different Lock Screen might not be satisfactory. 

 
I'm still confused. Is she famous? Are we supposed to know her identity?  How is this a cancel culture issue?
The Twitterverse has been trying to figure out her identity for the last 24 hours, and has wrongfully accused at least one person already as the offending person. As soon as her identity is revealed there will be efforts to get her fired, ostracized, etc. You don’t have to be famous to be a target of cancel culture. Just ask the Central Park woman who called the cops on the birdwatcher. 

 
The Twitterverse has been trying to figure out her identity for the last 24 hours, and has wrongfully accused at least one person already as the offending person. As soon as her identity is revealed there will be efforts to get her fired, ostracized, etc. You don’t have to be famous to be a target of cancel culture. Just ask the Central Park woman who called the cops on the birdwatcher. 
Oh. My bad. I'm embarrassed. I misunderstood both your original post and your first answer. I saw the UK in the link and thought you meant something like "Once you guys learn her identity (like she was some author of an anti cancel book in the UK) you all would go off the rails and force Joe to move this to the PSF but I started it here since I already know her identity and how this will go."

 
Oh. My bad. I'm embarrassed. I misunderstood both your original post and your first answer. I saw the UK in the link and thought you meant something like "Once you guys learn her identity (like she was some author of an anti cancel book in the UK) you all would go off the rails and force Joe to move this to the PSF but I started it here since I already know her identity and how this will go."
Oh man, you thought I was teasing a big reveal! Sorry for the disappointment!

 
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/12/manhattan-d-a-investigating-keyon-harrold-incident.html

NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said during a regularly scheduled press conference on Tuesday that police obtained security camera footage from the hotel that will likely lead to serious charges. “We’re now looking to charge this individual with assault and maybe even look at grand larceny or maybe even attempted robbery,” Harrison said. A department spokesperson told Gothamist the incident is not being investigated as a hate crime and that police have identified the woman.
 
I get the disrespect angle and the woman is out of control but all he had to do was unlock the phone to prove it was his.  It would have taken 15 seconds to resolve the whole situation.  In my opinion the father comes off as a big of jerk as she was.
Disagree.

The woman wasn't hearing any of it.

While a lot of people might say that they'd calmly unlock the phone to show her......I'd imagine when most were in the moment, the idea that you had to (for lack of better phrase) "show your papers" to this woman would turn most of us off.  I wouldn't have been opposed to going with the manager to his office to show him; but I wouldn't give in to her over that.  

 
I get the disrespect angle and the woman is out of control but all he had to do was unlock the phone to prove it was his.  It would have taken 15 seconds to resolve the whole situation.  In my opinion the father comes off as a big of jerk as she was.
That's the logical approach.  However ...

Two car traffic accident on the residential intersection outside our house a few days ago.  The driver of one of the cars (who was not at fault) was an older (~70) black man.  As my wife and I kept an eye on things, we saw that when the tow truck was getting ready to take his car, an animated discussion took place between the tow truck driver (~ 40 y.o. white man) and the black man.  The driver stopped his effort to make the tow.  (Police officer right there the whole time.)  The older man walked with a limp and used a cane, and the whole thing was taking some time, so I went out with a chair for him and to see if he needed a ride when everything was cleared or anything else.  I stayed out for a while until his son and grandson arrived.  In talking to him, I asked about the tow.  He said that he didn't like the way the driver looked at him ..the driver was 'looking down' on him.  The man said his sons were schoolteachers; a grandchild a doctor ...so basically, he didn't like the feeling of being stereotyped as just an old black man not deserving of basic respect (my words to describe his grumble).  The logical thing would be to just assume the tow truck driver was a jerky guy.  However, it's different from the lived experience of a black person who has probably gotten that look and faced that attitude throughout his life.  

TL:DR I feel that the dynamic of systemic racism is part of the issue here.

 
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/30/us/keyon-harrold-iphone-incident-new-york/index.html

The woman has not come forward, but CNN on Tuesday was the first news organization to talk to her by phone, and she disputed Harrold's account of what happened.

While the 22-year-old woman claimed she was assaulted during the altercation, CNN hasn't been able to corroborate her account with investigators or with the hotel where the incident took place.

In a 20-minute phone interview, she said the incident unfolded after she first demanded to see the hotel's surveillance video to try and pinpoint who may have taken her phone. She says she then asked someone else in the hotel lobby to "empty their pocket," before ultimately confronting Keyon Harrold Jr., who she maintained had her phone in his pocket.

"That's when everything got a little bit more serious," the woman said referring to the interaction.

Throughout the phone call, the woman's account of the incident was rambling at times. She provided additional information of events preceding and unrelated to the incident that CNN has been unable to confirm.

When asked if she's concerned about possibly facing charges and overall how she is portrayed in the video, she said, "Of course I worry. That's not who I am. I actually... try very hard to make sure that I am always doing the right thing."

The woman told CNN that she is willing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, but she hasn't received a call from the NYPD yet nor has she reached out herself. She also said she'd be willing to talk to the Harrolds.

After she agreed to provide evidence that could help confirm her claim that she was assaulted, she stopped responding to CNN's phone calls and text messages.

CNN is not naming her at this time because she said she has concerns for her safety unrelated to this incident.
 
the woman sounds nuts, but the hotel manager is getting a lot of blowback too, and Crump is even calling for a civil rights investigation into the hotel. I think this is too much. it seems like the hotel manager was just trying to de-escalate the situation, but the woman's behavior wasn't allowing that to happen. he probably could have handled it better, but you can't automatically assume racial bias just because he's trying to solve the problem.

 

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