Viral video shows white woman calling police on young black girl selling bottled water
A white woman was recorded calling the police on an 8-year-old girl selling bottled water without a permit, according to a viral video posted on Saturday.
Twitter user @_ethiopiangold posted on Twitter Saturday afternoon that her younger cousin was selling bottled water when a woman she dubbed “Permit Patty” intervened.
Law And Crime reported that the stand was set up outside AT&T Park during a San Francisco Giants baseball game.
In the video, the girl’s older cousin is seen following the woman, who was walking away while talking on the phone.
“This woman don’t wanna let a little girl sell some water,” the cousin says. “She’s calling the police on an 8-year-old little girl.”
When the woman appears to duck behind a wall, the cousin can be heard telling her she can hide all she wants.
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“The world’s gonna see you, boo,” the cousin said.
The woman then stands up.
“Yeah and illegally selling water without a permit,” she says in the video.
The girl’s cousin responds, “On my property.”
The white woman then says, “It’s not your property.”
The 15-second video took off on social media, notching more than 641,000 views as of Saturday afternoon.
“My family thanks you all for the funny comments memes & words of encouragement,” the cousin later tweeted. “My little cousin is doing okay for those who are asking and her mom is going to be pressing charges for harassment.”
The woman was later identified as area resident Alison Ettel. Ettel told a reporter, according to NBC News, that the girl had been disturbing her work, so she pretended to call the police.
But the video of Ettel sparked backlash from social media users calling attention to issues surrounding racism and policing.
One company said it would no longer do business with Ettel, who sells cannabis products for dogs.
NBC reported that Magnolia Wellness, a marijuana dispensary, wrote in a social media post, “As of today, Magnolia will no longer be carrying Treatwell Tinctures. After seeing this video of their CEO, calling the police on an 8-year-old entrepreneur selling water on a hot day, we decided without hesitation that we could no longer patronize her company.”
Many Twitter users said the incident was similar to a white woman in Oakland, Calif., calling the police on a black family for using a charcoal grill in a public park.
Area residents, in response, had a massive cookout at the same park last month in a sign of solidarity.
The woman instantly became an internet meme and was dubbed “BBQ Becky.”
— Updated June 24, 3:55 p.m.