Mother of Black teenager in Citi Bike ‘Karen’ incident says no one is asking son’s side of story

A Bronx 17-year-old and his immigrant family have disputed the account of a pregnant New Yorkhospital worker whose argument with the teenager over a Citi Bike went viral earlier this month.

Speaking to NewsOne, the teenager’s mother – an immigrant from West Africa – said she’d been horrified to learn what had transpired and feared for her son’s safety.

“So with a white woman standing right there and screaming for someone to help, if the police had come, and my son was standing there, they are going to shoot him. If he runs, they are going to shoot him,” the mother, referred to as Betty by the outlet to protect her identity, said this week.

“Everyone is taking her side because she is rich, and she is white, and she hired a lawyer, and the lawyer is defending her. They put it all over the television, and no one tried to find out who the boy is who could have lost his life. They didn’t find out who the family is. Everybody just ignored us like we don’t matter.”

The incident occurred on 12 May, when receipts provided to NewsOne by the family indicate the teenager – pseudonym Michael – first rented the bike at 5.53pm and returned it at 10.12pm. The receipts show Michael riding the bike for intervals of up to 45 minutes, after which the price rises, prompting many users to routinely re-dock and again check out bikes to avoid incurring higher fees.

His sister, labelled Mary, said the teenager had been riding bikes for years and was a member of the Citi Bike Angel programme, which offers credits and rewards to frequent users and those who relocate bikes between docking stations to rebalance inventories.

“There have been a bunch of roadblocks to getting my brother’s story out there,” Mary said. “He’s only 17. He doesn’t deserve to be going through this. And this woman just comes up and starts harassing a bunch of teenagers.”

According to Michael, he and his friends picked up the bikes in the Bronx and had been riding around the city before stopping to rest near the docking station at 1st Avenueand E 30th Street near Bellevue Hospital. All the riders have the same Citi Bike Fare Reduced Fare membership, he said, and the teens docked their bikes at 7.19pm before they could hit 45 minutes. He stood near his bike with his hands on the handlebars, while his four friends sat on their docked bikes while resting, the teen claimed.

That’s when Sarah Jane Comrie, a physician assistant at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, approached the docking station. According to her version, she checked out a bike and began to roll it from the dock when the teens intervened, saying the Citi Bike had been reserved.

As Michael tells it to NewsOne, however, the hospital worker asked two different boys for their bikes but was told they’d soon be leaving on them; then she asked Michael, and he gave the same answer.

“I’m pregnant,” he says she told him. “Can you help a pregnant woman out?”

He told NewsOne he apologized but told her: “I’ve ridden this bike all the way from the Bronx, and I need this bike to go back home.”

Footage shows Ms Comrie yelling and the teens insisting the bike is not hers; Michael pushes the bike back into the dock, telling NewsOne he entered the bike’s number into his phone to put the reservation back on his account.

“Michael said when Sarah Jane Comrie noticed him doing this, she snatched his phone out of his hand, which is shown in the video,” NewsOne reported.

At one point, as the teens stand with their bikes, the PA shouts: “Get off me! Get off me, you’re hurting my fetus!”

The filmed incident created a firestorm, with many branding the hospital worker a racist “Karen” while a GoFundMe for Ms Comrie has raised more than $128,000. A rival GoFundMe purporting to be for the teen’s family had raised nearly $65.000 as of 27 May.

Justin Marino, a lawyer for Ms Comrie, told Fox News after the incident that his client had received death threats and was in hiding. He furnished receipts showing her reservation of the e-bike at 7.24pm on the evening in question.

The teen’s family, however, insist the altercation has upended and endangered their lives, as well.

“At first, I felt supported,” Michael told NewsONe. “It was like I went through this thing, people saw the video of it, and they were supporting me.”

The statement and receipts from Mr Marino, he says, changed that.

“Everything flipped,” Michael said. “People started calling me a ‘thief,’ a ‘thug,’ and a ‘Black man.’

“It’s definitely having an effect on me,” he continued. “It’s just like, ‘wow. This is crazy’ ...She did something wrong, and she basically got rewarded for it. She’s made over $100,000 on a GoFundMe. She got all the white conservatives on her side. Everyone who was on my side has just kind of stayed silent.”

On Saturday, an auto response from Mr Marino’s office stated “we have ceased providing interviews or comments on the Sarah Comrie matter since 5/20/23.”

The Independent has reached out to NewsOne.

After footage of the dispute went viral, Ms Comrie was placed on leave by NYC Health + Hospitals, which stated: “The incident in the video is disturbing.”

The Independent has reached out to the hospital regarding the status of Ms Comrie’s employment.