The lawyer for the woman at the center of a viral confrontation with black teens over a New York City Citi Bike has receipts that purportedly show she paid for the bike herself, the New York Post reports.
The woman, whose name is allegedly Sarah Jane Comrie, got into a heated incident with a group of black teens who claimed she was attempting to steal a New York City rental bike they had paid for. Footage shows the woman screaming and calling for “help,” prompting allegations she was weaponizing “white tears” against a group of young black men. She has since been nicknamed “Citi Bike Karen.”
Lawyer Justin Marino reportedly presented the New York Post with two receipts from the May 12 incident. The publication reviewed the materials, the first of which purportedly shows the bike was checked out before being re-locked again a minute later. The lawyer said the bike associated with the receipts is the same one featured in the viral confrontation video, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Victim In Central Park ‘Karen’ Case Unwilling To Cooperate In Investigation)
The second receipt allegedly shows the woman checked out a different bike after the group “heckled and pressured [her] to find a new bike.” The Bellevue Hospital nurse checked out the second bike from the same docking station as the first, her lawyer reportedly told the NY Post.
This lady tried her best to weaponize her tears, but when she realized it wasn’t going to work she switched it off and acted like nothing happened.
This should be criminal. pic.twitter.com/P1UW3gJZGf
— 🥀_Imposter_🥀 (@Imposter_Edits) May 14, 2023
Marino reportedly said that after his client finished her 12-hour shift at the hospital, she paid for the first bike via the Citi Bike app and removed it from the docking station. The group of teens then confronted his client and said the bike was theirs, he alleged. An individual in the group purportedly pushed the bike back into the docking station, causing it to lock again. A member of the group allegedly covered the bike’s QR code, which prevented the woman from paying for the same bike again, the NY Post continued, citing Marino.
“In blocking the QR code, this individual’s arm was touching my client’s pregnant stomach, a condition of which she had made them aware,” Marino reportedly told the outlet. “Throughout this time and for the remainder of the video, roughly five individuals were telling her to get off the bike and heckling her.”
Marino said the woman’s life as a nurse has centered around “helping others, irrespective of their background,” according to the NY Post.
NYC Health + Hospitals placed the woman on leave following the incident, the outlet reported in a separate article.
“We are aware of the video involving a health care provider off duty and away from the hospital campus. The incident in the video is disturbing,” a department spokesperson told the outlet Tuesday. “The provider is currently out on leave and will remain on leave pending a review.”