One white woman is finding herself internet-infamous for calling the cops on black people for the crime of grilling. A pair of black men was enjoying a day at the park and decided to BBQ. They were in a designated grilling area where other people were also grilling, but the woman harassed the family for hours before eventually calling the police.
According to her, the family was putting the public in danger by using charcoal to grill. She told people she needed to call the police:
Because it causes extra money from our city to do things when children get injured because of improperly disposed coals.
The city has no known reports of anyone being injured because of improperly disposed of coals, according to a councilwoman who commented on the incident.
A witness documented the encounter on Twitter.
So today I’m at Lake Merritt and minding my Black ass business. As I finish my jog (Let’s be real, fast walk) I notice this white woman being really aggressive towards the Black Guy. I’m nosey so I stop to observe.
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
Turns out, she is harassing him about bbq’ing on the lake....where everyone bbqs. pic.twitter.com/GooQfDcJ1j
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
So i walk over to him and introduce myself and let him know I would be standing by as she calls the cops just so he isn’t alone and I can be a witness to her harassment. pic.twitter.com/y93rlKuhPV
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
His friend then shows up so I go over and introduce myself to him and reiterate that I’m gonna be there to observe in case facts get mixed up.
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
Then another group of folks come over and observe the Angry White Woman harassing the two men. They call out her racism for what it is and go IN! pic.twitter.com/waE48o7479
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
Long story short....it took another white woman to run the Angry White Woman off. No police ever showed up (while I was there) because they have real crimes to worry about. pic.twitter.com/0DgCf6h773
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
Update! The police showed up an hour later and told the men they were bbq'ing in a LEGAL zone. So...Angry White Woman was just harassing these men for hours for nothing AND wasting tax dollars. https://t.co/PZD8MqvPT0
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) May 9, 2018
The formerly aggressive woman turned on the waterworks and started to cry once police arrived. She told them the family had been harassing her.
It didn’t take long for officers to figure out what was going on.
There are so many sad things about this story. 1)this man was being harassed by an Angry White Woman, 2) i had to take three hours out of my day to make sure this Angry White Woman did not put his life in danger. 3) it took another white woman to check her
— #BlackLivesMatter (@ajwftw) April 29, 2018
The incident has since become part of a larger talking point…
This white woman harasses a black family and tries to get the police to arrest them for having an approved BBQ at a park. Then she cries when the police don’t issue a citation or beat anyone to a pulp. Racists have an inferiority complex and a victim mindset when hurting others. https://t.co/jsUPAjgeWs
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 11, 2018
And at the end - when she realized she couldn't kick black people out of a park for barbecuing while black - she starts to cry.
— Steve Marmel (@Marmel) May 12, 2018
Hey. question to my foodie friends:
Can you salt BBQ with the tears of a bigot? https://t.co/Obws4J02dB
This whole video is crazy. Worth noting that the woman filming is also a white woman, who stepped into to film all this after the BBQ-while-black lady SPENT TWO HOURS trying to get cops to arrest the BBQers https://t.co/kBwktcuz1h
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) May 11, 2018
The story has a plot twist. After the incident went viral, the community rallied to respond in its own way.
This is how people in the community respond to the white lady complaining to the police about 2 black men bbqing in the Park— they throw a bigger BBQ in the same park pic.twitter.com/9KJCj73Brf
— Rogelio Garcia Lawyer (@LawyerRogelio) May 12, 2018
That’s the park where the white woman called the cops on a black family BBQuing. Black people showed in masses to BBQ. This is the response to a white woman calling the police. pic.twitter.com/r60wyrz35P
— Brother Tyrone X (@tyrone345345) May 11, 2018
Here’s what happened yesterday at that park in Oakland...a mixed (mainly black) crowd of people went in protest to party and bbq. They played music, the kids played & jumped rope and everyone had a great time. Best revenge ever. pic.twitter.com/Ulkvp4actz
— The Black Politico (@TheBlkPolitico) May 11, 2018
Black Oakland throws BBQ cookout party in same park where white woman called cops and do the Electric Slide to “Before I Let Go.” https://t.co/AN18IpGGSG
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) May 12, 2018
H/T: Twitter, Huffington Post