NYPD Releases Video Of ‘SoHo Karen’—White Woman Tackling Black Teen Falsely Accused of Stealing Phone

Last weekend in New York City, a white woman falsely accused the 14-year-old son of a Jazz musician of stealing her iPhone at a SoHo hotel, earning her the nickname “SoHo Karen.” A portion of the skirmish was captured on video and posted to social media. Last week, the same woman who is seen on video as the aggressor then claimed victim as she stated that she was the one who was assaulted. Now, the New York Police Department has released portions of a surveillance video from the hotel the incident took place at confirming that the woman assaulted and tackled the Black teenager she falsely accused of stealing her iPhone.

In the disturbing video, the woman—later identified as Miya Ponsetto—was seen, from two different viewpoints, running after, then grabbing and tackling the teenager, Jazz musician Keyon Harrold’s son, Keyon Harrold Jr., to the ground.

On Saturday, December 26, the woman in this video falsely accused an innocent 14-year-old teenager of stealing her cellphone. She then proceeded to physically attack him and fled the location before police officers arrived on scene. pic.twitter.com/qtZZWetBWH

— Chief Rodney Harrison (@NYPDDetectives) December 31, 2020

The @NYPDnews is requesting the public’s assistance locating the suspect in this video.

Anyone with information in regard to the suspect’s whereabouts is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS(8477) or DM @NYPDTips

— Chief Rodney Harrison (@NYPDDetectives) December 31, 2020

Last week, attorney Ben Crump released a statement pertaining to the troubling incident.

“As this year of racial awareness is drawing to a close, it’s deeply troubling that incidents like this one, in which a Black child is viewed as and treated like a criminal, continue to happen. Compounding the injustice, the hotel manager defaulted to calling on 14-year-old Keyon to prove his innocence, documenting that we have two justice systems in America and that Black people are treated as guilty until proven innocent. We strongly urge Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. to bring assault and battery charges against this woman to send the message that hateful, racially motivated behavior is unacceptable. This is what it will take to drive change. We also call for a civil rights investigation into the Arlo Hotel for its implicit bias in its treatment of Keyon.”