NYPD officers detain a person as pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside of Columbia University in New York City on April 18, 2024. Officers cleared out a pro-Palestinian campus demonstration on April 18, a day after university officials testified about anti-Semitism before Congress. Leaders of Columbia University defended the prestigious New York school's efforts to combat anti-Semitism on campus at a fiery congressional hearing on April 17. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
A young girl’s reaction to New York City police officers confronting and arresting her mother for alleged shoplifting is going viral.
Details about what led to the cops’ presence remain unclear, but a pair of allegedly stolen Moncler glasses might’ve been the issue.
Again, it’s unclear who contacted the police in this incident and when. However, it appears a bystander recorded the interactions.
The videos are divided into two parts: the first is about 55 seconds long, and the second is two minutes long. Both show at least five NYPD officers surrounding the mother and her child.
The first starts with the girl’s reaction to an in-progress confrontation. It’s unclear how long the cops had been speaking to her mom before the bystander began recording. However, the child appeared angry and agitated with the scenario.
“Leave my mother alone before it be a mother f-ing problem,” the little girl yelled while standing a few feet from her mom.
The mother seemed less concerned with her child’s yelling and threats. Instead, she was seen reaching inside her bra and patting herself down with a confused facial expression.
For context, the mom was wearing a grey bodycon, spaghetti-strap dress, and sneakers. She had placed her umbrella, red purse, ZARA shopping bag, sunglasses, and water on the floor in front of and beside her.
Meanwhile, the officers’ radios described their suspect as “…Black wearing sunglasses, a grey top, and she had a ZARA bag.” Another description alleged the suspect was “a female, Black with long braids with a white baseball cap, white shirt with white shorts…”
The mother repeatedly asked, “What glasses did I steal from Moncler?” while the officers stood by. Meanwhile, when her daughter screamed at the bystander to “stop recording now,” the mom pulled the child back and asked the bystander to continue recording for her “safety.”
“My aunt stole glasses, it wasn’t her. Do she have a f**king white t-shirt on? NO! NO,” she said. “On my soul, leave my mother alone. On my dead father, she don’t have nothing.”
Watch part one below.
The second part picks up where the first cut off. Given her voice level and language use, the girl’s reaction appeared to still be highly agitated.
“I’m finna kill somebody, bruh. I’m finna punch somebody in the face,” the girl yelled.
When a male officer attempted to speak to the child, she told him to leave her alone multiple times. “My mother get arrested, I swear to God bruh, imma punch somebody in the face,” she yelled.
While the mom appeared calm and compliant at first, her voice hinted at irritation in the next cut of the video. The mother kept telling the cops she didn’t take any glasses while her daughter was in tears.
“Y’all got me messed up on my soul,” the girl said, attempting to drink some water. At that point, her mother lightly touched her chest and told her,” Juju, calm down.”
In another video cut, the girl returned her mother’s advice to “calm down.” Ultimately, though, a female officer put the mom in cuffs as another collected her belongings from the floor.
“I didn’t steal sh*t yo that’s crazy,” the mom said.
When they placed her mother in the car, the little girl’s reaction turned into uncontrollable sobs. A male officer attempted to calm her down, following the mother’s pleas for “Juju” to do so.
Watch part two below.
Two videos of the incident have collectively received over 1.5 million views on TikTok within 16 hours of being uploaded to @theoriginalityshow’s page on May 27. Additionally, the uploads combined have nearly 9,000 comments.
As of Tuesday (May 28), the footage is spreading across other social platforms and blowing up among trending topics.
