Black teenager Keyon Harrold Jr. unjustly accused by a woman of stealing the phone at the Arlo Hotel in Soho, NY, says he is shocked

NEW YORK – Family involved in a now viral incident in which a woman wrongly accused a 14-year-old black boy of stealing a cell phone, spoke to Good morning America about what happened.

“I was confused,” Keyon Harrold Jr. said. “I mean, I don’t know what would have happened if my father hadn’t been, honestly. The other day, still a little shocked. But I’m staying there.”

She appeared with her father – Grammy-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold – her mother Kat Rodriguez and their lawyer Ben Crump, who is asking the Manhattan District Attorney to charge the woman.

The incident, which was recorded on a video with a mobile phone, happened on Saturday in the lobby of the Arlo hotel, where the teenager and his father were accommodated as guests. The unidentified woman repeatedly asked him to “give it back”, apparently referring to her mobile phone.

Watch the video that was posted on social media below:

The woman’s cell phone was later found in an Uber.

“I was confused because I never saw that lady and I didn’t know what to do right now,” said Harrold Jr. “At first, I’d like to apologize. And two, I’d ask her. why would he do such a thing to a child who has never known you? “

The video has since gone viral and sparked racial allegations.

Harrold Sr. said that physically, the woman “was on him asking for his phone immediately” once they went down the hall.

“But after the video stopped and, I mean, he practically approached, he scratched me and I was there, you know, trying to protect my little one,” he said. “And basically trying to keep her away, to keep her away from my son. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if I hadn’t been there to be with him.”

Watch: The Harrold family speaks to “GMA”:

He also said that he was rejected by the fact that the hotel representative “practically relies on her” on his son.

“I just couldn’t stand it,” he said. “I’m still in shock. I’m still trying to believe, you know, that it happened so fast … It’s unbelievable that anyone would literally have the audacity to take on and accuse wrongly.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio also weighed in, saying of the incident: “This is racism. Simple and straightforward ”.

“It would be horrible at any age, but it is particularly offensive that it happened to a child,” he wrote on Twitter. “To Keyon Harrold Jr. and her family: I’m sorry this happened to you. Her behavior was an affront to our city’s values.”

Harrold said his son is still shaken by the incident.

“He wanted to know what his fault was,” Harrold said. “Basically my conversations are to let that son know, you’re just, you know, still living the way you live. We have to do things. We need to change the narrative. We need to change the laws. You have to do things that will allow you to be literally the American boy, the 14-year-old you have, that you have rights. You have as many rights as anyone else on these streets. “

Rodriguez, who was not present at the time, said he was still waiting to hear from the woman, whom he wanted to introduce and explain.

“The fear came because my son, if his father had not been there, what would have happened to my son if the police had been called,” she said. “When my son asked me, ‘Why me, mother?’ “It simply came to our notice then.

The confrontation led to comparisons with recent incidents involving false accusations against people of color. In May, a black bird watcher took out his phone in Central Park and captured a white woman calling police to report that she had been threatened by “an African-American man.”

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump is asking Manhattan DA Cy Vance to file charges against the woman in the video.

“We want accusations because we have to send a message, because this has bigger implications for society,” he said. “Think how many black men have been falsely accused by these Karen and end up losing their freedom and losing their lives while in prison.”

After watching the video widely shared on social networks, the police said they would now investigate the incident as at least a misdemeanor attack. It is not currently being investigated as a bias.

Police said Tuesday afternoon that she was identified positively, and detectives are trying to locate her.

The hotel management said in a post on Sunday that it had addressed Harrold and his son to apologize.

“We are deeply discouraged by the recent indictment, prejudice and baseless attacks on an innocent guest at the Arlo Hotel,” they said on Facebook.

(Associated Press contributed to this report.)