“I’ve been confused,” said Keyon Harrold Jr. “I mean, I don’t know what would have happened if my dad wasn’t there, frankly. He was still a little shocked for the past few days. But I’ll hang there. ‘
He has performed with his father – Grammy-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold – his mother Kat Rodriguez, and their attorney Ben Crump, who is calling the Manhattan district attorney to press charges against the woman.
The incident, which was recorded on cell phone video, happened 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 it’, 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 that lady, and I didn’t know what to do right now,” said Harrold Jr. ‘First I would like an apology. And second, I would like to ask her why she would do such a thing to a child you’ve never met? ”
The video has since gone viral, leading to allegations of racial profiling against Harrold and his family.
Harrold Sr. said the woman was physically “all like him and immediately asked for his phone” as soon as they entered the lobby.
“But after the video went out and, I mean, she basically took it, she scratched me, and I was there to, you know, try to protect my little cub,” he said. ‘And actually trying to keep her away, keep her from my son. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if I wasn’t there to be with him. ‘
Watch: The Harrold family talks to ‘GMA’:
He also said he was thrown off the map that the hotel representative was “essentially on the side with her” over his son.
“I just wouldn’t stand for it,” he said. “I’m still in shock, I’m still trying to believe, you know, that it happened so quickly … It’s just unbelievable that someone would literally have the guts to assume and falsely accuse.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio also weighed in and said of the incident, “It’s racism. Clear and simple.”
“It would be terrible at any age, but most of all it is insulting that it happened to a child,” he wrote on Twitter. To Keyon Harrold Jr. and his family: I’m so sorry this happened to you. Her behavior was an insult to the values of our city. ‘
This is racism. Simply.
It would be terrible at any age, but most of all it is insulting that it happened to a child.
To Keyon Harrold Jr. and his family: I’m so sorry this happened to you. Her behavior was an insult to our city’s values. https://t.co/xuWRyHTJmW
– Major Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 29, 2020
Harrold said his son is still shocked by the incident.
“He wanted to know why it was his fault,” Harrold said. “Basically my conversations are to let him know that that son, you are, you know, continue to live the way you live. We have to do things. We have to change the story. We have to change laws. “You can literally be the American little boy, the 14-year-old minor that you are, that you have rights. You have as many rights as anyone else walking these streets.”
Rodriguez, who was not present at the time, said she is still waiting to hear from the woman she wants to come forward and explain herself.
“There was fear because my son, had it not been for his father, what would have happened to my son if the police had called,” she said. “When my son asked me, ‘Why me, mom?’ That just hurt.
The showdown led to comparisons to recent incidents of false accusations against black people. In May, a black birdwatcher pulled out his phone in Central Park and captured a white woman who called the police to report that she was being threatened by “an African American man.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump calls on Manhattan DA Cy Vance to press charges against the woman in the video.
“We want to sue because we have to send a message because it has greater implications for society,” he said. “Just think how many black men have been falsely accused by these Karens and they end up losing their freedom and losing their lives while in prison.”
New York City police did not identify the woman, saying only that a harassment complaint had been filed for an incident at the hotel on Saturday. A spokesperson for Vance said the office is “thoroughly investigating this incident,” but went no further.
Hotel management said in a post on Sunday that they were contacting Harrold and his son to apologize.
“We are deeply discouraged about the recent incident of baseless allegations, prejudice and assault against an innocent guest of Arlo Hotel,” they said on Facebook.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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