Footage shared to Facebook has shown the moment a white cop arrested a black man for eating a sandwich on a train platform. Police in California are now under investigation for the incident, which saw the man handcuffed while eating.
Per the Daily Mail, transit cops in the Bay Area handcuffed the passenger for eating a sandwich as he waited to board a BART. The incident occurred on Monday, but after footage of the arrested was posted to social media on Friday, California police have come under fire for racial profiling.
In the video, an officer can be seen grabbing Steve Foster's rucksack and refusing to let go. After 31-year-old Foster questioned why was being detained and nobody else was, the officer said: "You're eating. It's against the law, it's a violation of California law. I have the right to detain you."
Check out the moment below:The incident took place at Pleasant Hill Station in Walnut Creek, California.
He can be heard in the footage, Foster can be heard saying: "You came here and busted me. Why did you single me out, out of all these people?"
Foster - who goes by the name Bill Gluckman on Facebook - then waved his sandwich to the camera, adding, "I'm on BART", before the person filming pointed out that he hadn't even been successful in boarding the Bay Area Rapid Transit due to the cop.
The officer can then be heard saying: "I just explained to you that you are detained. You're detained and you are not free to go. I have a right to detain you."
To which Foster replied: "No you don't. I've done nothing wrong. Can you please let my s*** go. Let my backpack go."
The cop then calls for backup and demands Foster show him some identification. The officer then threatens to take Foster to jail for resisting arrest, to which Foster says: "I'm not going to jail for eating a f****** sandwich."
The officer replied: "No, you're going to jail for resisting arrest. [...] You're going to end up going to jail today, my man', he added as he held onto the strap of Foster's bag."
Foster then addresses the camera, saying: "I don't feel detained, I feel harassed. I see people eating and drinking coffee every day and you single me out, why? [The officer] came all the way down the platform to single me out for eating a sandwich."
After the row, three BART officers arrived on the platform, order Foster to turn around, and handcuff him.
As he is led away, Foster shouts: "Four cops for eating a sandwich. Ain't nobody resisting. It's against the law to eat?"
In the video below, the officer explains why he is arresting Foster:BART Board Vice President Rebecca Saltzman has confirmed that the incident is being investigated. She told The San Francisco Examiner: "BART's independent police auditor received a complaint about this and is reviewing. I and other BART directors are following up with management about this."
On Sunday, other BART passengers took part in a '"eat-in" protest in support of Foster. Roughly 30 people took to the platform and ate their lunch.
Recalling the incident, Foster has told ABC7: "I'm definitely upset, mad, a little frustrated, angry about it. I was just up there eating my sandwich waiting for the train to come. I think I was singled out because I was black, to be honest."
Janice Li, a member of BART's Board of Directors, has hit out against the California police, condemning the officers' actions: 'To see yet another young black man impacted by law enforcement like this is extremely troubling to me.
"This is a question of what we are putting our BART police towards. We know how to make the system better and safer, and this ain't it."
Foster is now facing a $250 fine and 48 hours of community service. He has said that he plans to fight the ticket.
