Surveillance video shows woman attacks ‘innocent’ 14-year-old black teenager: NYPD

SOHO, Manhattan – A woman physically assaulted a black teenage girl, then fled the scene, escaping the cops, after initially falsely accusing the 14-year-old of stealing her cell phone.

That’s the NYPD’s description now of the incident that happened last Saturday in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in SoHo. The head of detectives also released surveillance video of the incident, which confirms allegations by the teenager’s family that the woman committed a series of crimes against him.

All this prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday to raise the situation in terms of race. Still, the attack is not considered a hate crime at this point.

The encounter took place when Keyon Harrold – a trumpeter who performed on the soundtrack of a Grammy-winning film and collaborated with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Eminem and many other prominent artists – was got off the elevator in the Arlo hotel. lobby.

“We were literally going down for brunch, just me and my son,” Harrold said at a press conference on Wednesday when he said a woman had shouted the false accusation.

He recorded the meeting on his cell phone. This video has been viewed millions of times on social media and has been shared widely. It ends, according to Harrold, just when he had to stop her to intervene and protect his son from the woman, after she had physically assaulted the teenager.

Surveillance video released Wednesday evening shows the actual attack.

In footage apparently provided to investigators by the hotel, the woman grabs the young man and pulls him to the ground. The attack was captured from two different surveillance camera angles.

In a tweet, NYPD Detective Chief Rodney Harrison said the woman “physically attacked … an innocent 14-year-old … and fled the scene before police arrived at the scene.”

He also said the boy was “falsely accused” by the woman. His identity has not been officially revealed, but the chef’s tweet also shows his face, with the word “wanted” below the image.

The Harrold family works with a legal team led by prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump. At Wednesday’s press conference, Crump said they knew the woman had consulted with her own lawyer, who had a different view of what had happened.

“Trying to allege that she was assaulted by Keyon,” Crump said, referring to the renowned trumpeter. “We know the hotel’s surveillance video has it all.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio also condemned this false statement at his daily press conference Thursday.

“It’s very personal for me,” said the mayor. “I have a colored son who is about as good a human being as you can imagine. And yet, I know, he will be looked down upon and disrespected throughout his life – and it’s not fair and it’s not fair and he’s got to end. “

Meanwhile, the teenager’s mother Kat Rodriguez said that while the family is strong, the crime that happened has had a negative effect on their son.

“He said and we heard him say that,” Rodriguez said at Wednesday’s press conference, ““ She was probably scared of me. And threatened. “No 14 year old boy should be afraid and threatened!” The mother exclaimed.

According to law enforcement sources, the father, Keyon Harrold, visited the local compound to view a series of photos which included images of the woman. Sources also said the woman, who is not yet officially identified, faces assault, attempted robbery and endangering a child’s well-being.

Activist Reverend Al Sharpton spoke on Wednesday.

“We see this as a crime of bias,” he said. He, attorney Crump, and the family had just met with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance when Sharpton spoke. “He said, ‘I’m not ruling it out,'” Sharpton said, quoting the DA, “” but I’m not committing to it. “

New York State criminal law, which the NYPD follows in determining prosecutions for hate crimes, states that “An incident of bias is an offense or unlawful act motivated in whole or in part by the identification of a person, group or place of a particular race, color, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, ancestry, national origin or sexual orientation (including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered) as determined by the Hate Crimes Task Force Commander. “

Meanwhile, a petition launched by Crump on behalf of the family calling for criminal charges in the case has received more than 75,000 signatures. The lawyer is seeking 100,000 signatures in the petition he launched Tuesday.