Black teenager unjustly accused of stealing phone in viral incident at SoHo hotel says he is in shock

SOHO, Manhattan (WABC) – A family involved in a now viral incident at a New York hotel in which a woman unfairly accused a black teenager of stealing a cell phone is demonstrating, with the 14-year-old telling Good Morning America he still doesn’t understand exactly what happened.

“I’m confused,” said Keyon Harrold Jr. .. “I mean, I don’t know what would have happened if my father hadn’t been there, honestly. These last few days, I’m still in a state of shock. But I’m holding on.”

He appeared with his father – Grammy-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold – his mother Kat Rodriguez and his lawyer Ben Crump, who is calling the Manhattan district attorney to open charges against the woman.

The incident, which was recorded on cell 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”, apparently referring to his cell phone.

Watch the video that was posted on social media below:

The woman’s cell phone was later found in an Uber.

“For me, I was confused because I had never seen that lady and I didn’t know what to do at the time,” said Harrold Jr. “In the beginning, I would like an apology. And two, I would ask her why she would do something like that with a child who never knew you? “

Since then, the video has gone viral and sparked accusations of racial discrimination against Harrold and his family.

Harrold Sr. said that physically, the woman “was all behind him asking for his phone immediately” as soon as they went down to the lobby.

“But after the video was cut and, I mean, it basically attacked, it scratched me, and I was there to, you know, try to protect my puppy,” he said. “And basically trying to keep you away, to keep you away from my son. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if I wasn’t there to be with him.”

Watch: The Harrold family speaks to ‘GMA’:

He also said he was surprised that the hotel representative was “basically on her side” because of his son.

“I just wouldn’t tolerate that,” he said. “I’m still in shock, I’m still trying to believe, you know, that it happened so fast … It’s just unbelievable that someone literally had the audacity to take over and accuse wrongly.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio also expressed his opinion, saying of the incident: “This is racism. Pure and simple.”

“It would be horrible at any age, but it is especially offensive that it happened to a child,” he wrote on Twitter. “For Keyon Harrold Jr. and his family: I am very sorry that this happened to you. Her behavior was an affront to the values ​​of our city.”

Harrold said his son was still upset by the incident.

“He wanted to know what his fault was,” said Harrold. “Basically, my conversations are to let you know that son, you just, you know, continues to live the way you do. We have to do things. We have to change the narrative. We have to change the laws. We have to do things that would allow you to be literally the little American boy, the youngest of 14 that you are, who has rights. You have as many rights as anyone else walking these streets. “

Rodriguez, who was not present at the time, said he is still waiting for a response from the woman, with whom she wants to introduce herself and explain herself.

“The fear came because my son, if his father had not been there, what would have happened to my son if the police had been called,” she said. “When my son asked me, ‘Why me, mom?’ That hurt.

The confrontation sparked comparisons with recent incidents involving false accusations against blacks. In May, a black bird watcher picked up his phone in Central Park and captured a white woman calling the police to report that she was being threatened by “an African American man”.

Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump is calling on Manhattan’s prosecutor Cy Vance to open charges against the woman in the video.

“We want charges because we have to send a message because it has greater implications for society,” he said. “Think of how many black men have been falsely accused by these Karens and they end up losing their freedom and losing their lives sitting in prison.”

New York police did not identify the woman, saying only that there was a complaint of harassment filed for an incident that occurred on Saturday inside the hotel. A spokesman for Vance said the office was “thoroughly investigating this incident”, but gave no further details.

Hotel management said in a post on Sunday that it apologized to Harrold and his son.

“We are deeply discouraged by the recent incident of unfounded accusation, prejudice and aggression against an innocent guest at the Arlo Hotel,” they said on Facebook.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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