A sign on the gate for the entrance to Bellevue Hospital is viewed on October 24, 2014 in New York, the morning after it was confirmed that Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who recently returned to New York from West Africa tested positive for Ebola. New York confirmed the first case of Ebola in the largest city in the United States as the EU dramatically ramped up aid Friday to contain the killer epidemic ravaging west Africa.The EU announcement of one billion euros ($1.3 billion) for the worst-hit countries comes as fears of a spread of the virus grew, with the first confirmed case in Mali, where a two-year-old girl has tested positive. Craig Spencer was placed in isolation at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center, officials said. AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. Clary (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
A Bellevue Hospital employee appears to be the internet’s newest ‘Karen’ after a viral video showed her attempting to snatch an allegedly reserved bike from a Black young man.
On Sunday, the hospital released a statement about the incident.
“We have recently become aware of an incident that occurred off-campus over the weekend and appears to involve one of our employees. We are sorry this happened, and we are reviewing the incident,” Bellevue’s tweeted statement said.
The hospital did not indicate whether they’ve contacted the unidentified employee or if there are pending consequences. However, folks online are pressing the medical employer to fire the white, pregnant woman for her alleged behavior.
The minute-and-a-half video shows the white woman, dressed in navy blue scrubs, standing with a CitiBike between her legs. Meanwhile, a Black teen in a white t-shirt and purple shorts is holding the bike’s handle. The group the teen was traveling with can be heard in the background–one is recording as another encourages him to film.
The hospital employee frequently lays her hand on the teen’s arm as she screams out, “Help, help me, please help me.” However, the woman does not appear to be in danger from the video.
At one point, she screams, “Please get off me,” but neither the boy holding the bike nor his friends appear to be touching her. Then, she takes off her employee badge and tucks it away in a bag before continuing to scream for help.
Afterward, she attempts to push the teen away from the bike using her body, saying, “Get off me, dude.” Even though the teen nor his friends have touched her–at this point in the recorded video–she snatches the phone of the Black teen from his hand.
The person recording asks the employee why she took his phone, while the impacted teen asks if she’s “stupid or something.” Even though the opposite is seen on camera, the employee accuses the teen of endangering her fetus.
“Get off me, you’re hurting my fetus. You’re hurting my unborn child,” she claims.
But the teen responds:
“I’m not touching you, you’re putting your stomach on my hand.”
Meanwhile, another teen with the group attempts to offer her his bike, but the person recording discourages him. Additionally, the woman doesn’t budge–instead, choosing to scream for help again.
As the interaction continues, a white male employee walks past the scene while on the phone. He circles back and attempts to intervene. The moment the white male steps in, the white female employee doubles over in “tears” and forcibly shakes as she tries to appeal to the other employee. She then becomes more forceful, trying to pull the reserved bike out of its holding and screaming, “Get off me.”
The impacted teen makes it clear he doesn’t “give a f**k” about her tears because it’s allegedly his bike under his CitiBike account. As a solution, the white male employee sides with the woman, adding, “Alright, why don’t we reset the bike.”
But the impacted teen and the person recording don’t budge, insisting it’s the teen’s bike. Meanwhile, the pregnant employee continues to ‘sob’ without visible tears and swat at the teen holding the bike handle.
He then asks her to “stop touching” him, adding that he hasn’t touched her. When the male employee suggests she takes the bike the other teen offered earlier in the video, she finally agrees. The ‘tears’ end, and she hops off the bike and gets on her phone to reserve the offered bike.
As mentioned, the hospital has not identified any of the employees involved in the incident. Still, the internet works fast, and online users have allegedly identified her as Sarah Jane Comrie–though The Shade Room cannot confirm.
This story is still developing.
