Author Alex O’Keefe shared a video final week of MTA police in New York inserting him in handcuffs for alleged disorderly conduct, whereas warning his Instagram followers that “this nation is rising extra psycho by the day.”
O’Keefe, a speechwriter who was additionally a employees author for the hit collection “The Bear,” alleged in an Instagram publish shared Thursday that police detained him on a New York prepare after an “previous white girl” complained about how he was sitting. O’Keefe alleged in his Instagram caption and in video of his interplay with legislation enforcement that the lady took difficulty with the “one black individual on the prepare.”
A spokesperson for the MTA Police Division confirmed in a press release that officers responded Thursday morning to a “report of a disorderly passenger” on the Fordham Metro-North station within the Bronx. A conductor reported {that a} 31-year-old passenger occupied two seats and “refused to take away his toes from one of many seats.” In response to New York Metropolis Transit Guidelines of Conduct and Fines, disorderly conduct can embody occupying multiple seat and inserting one’s foot on a seat on a “station, platform or conveyance.”
Police, citing physique digicam footage and on-board safety footage, say O’Keefe “was noticed with each legs stretched throughout an adjoining seat” and allege he refused police instructions to exit the prepare onto the platform and to board a following prepare. The assertion provides that O’Keefe delayed service “for a number of hundred different riders for six minutes” and was handcuffed and faraway from the prepare.
Police issued O’Keefe a summons for disorderly conduct and he “was not positioned below arrest at any time,” the assertion mentioned.
O’Keefe shared his aspect of the incident on Instagram. The girl who complained about his method of sitting introduced her grievances to the conductor, who phoned police and stopped the prepare, he wrote. He additionally alleges {that a} buddy of the lady informed him, “‘You’re not the minority anymore.’” O’Keefe added that police “arrested” him with out “even speaking to the Karen who reported the one black individual on the prepare” and that solely different Black passengers recorded the dispute.
On Instagram, O’Keefe shared photographs of the lady who allegedly complained and one other passenger. He additionally posted video of 4 officers surrounding him as he faces a wall together with his palms behind his again. “They only noticed the Black man and arrested [me],” he says within the video.
O’Keefe’s video documenting his detainment circulated on social media over the weekend. In a press release shared Tuesday, O’Keefe denied the allegations in opposition to him and mentioned the “last item any Black man needs is a viral arrest video.”
“I labored my total life in politics and tradition to be taken severely, and to make our nation a greater place. However my accomplishments and awards can not defend me from the violence we’ve all normalized,” he mentioned. “American life is filled with brutal irony.”
Along with “The Bear,” O’Keefe has written for the local weather activist group the Dawn Motion and labored with Democratic politicians together with Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Charles Booker, in response to his web site. He was amongst a bunch of “The Bear” scribes to earn a WGA Award in 2023 when the the present was named greatest comedy collection.
In his assertion, O’Keefe added that the incident occurred 4 days after his marriage ceremony as he was on his method to work. He additionally mentioned he felt a white man wouldn’t be topic to the identical therapy, including “Sitting whereas Black isn’t unlawful.” He additional alleged that race performed a task within the incident and police response.
“I’m grateful for the overwhelming love and solidarity I’ve obtained. Each employee deserves a peaceable commute,” he mentioned. “I hope by sharing my story, New York turns into a safer metropolis for all.”
