Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #486

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Police Detain Man Eating A Sandwich On A San Francisco Train Platform
By Theresa Waldrop and Cheri Mossburg, CNN
(CNN)A police officer detained and cited a man eating a sand- wich on a San Francisco train platform, a con- frontation cap- tured on a viral video.
In the video post- ed on social media, the Bay Area Rapid
Transit policeman told the man, later identified as Steve Foster, that eating on the platform is against state law. The officer keeps his hand on Foster's back- pack while Foster angrily addresses the camera and the officer.
Foster insisted he was doing noth- ing wrong and refused to give his name. The
November 4 inci- dent escalated and Foster was handcuffed when a second officer arrived at the train platform.
"I'm definitely upset, mad, a lit- tle frustrated, angry about it," Foster told CNN affiliate KGO.
BART spokesper- son Alicia Trost said Monday that an officer issued a citation to
Foster but did not arrest him. "The court will deter- mine level of fine he should pay," she said.
BART General Manager Bob Powers issued a statement in which he said he was disappointed how the situation unfolded and apologized to Foster, riders, employees and others who "have had an emotional
reaction to the video."
"Eating in the paid area is banned and there are multiple signs inside every sta- tion saying as much," the state- ment said. "As a transportation system our con- cern with eating is related to the cleanliness of our stations and sys- tem. This was not the case in the incident at Pleasant Hill sta- tion on Monday. "
"The officer asked the rider not to eat while passing by on another call," the statement contin- ued. "It should have ended there, but it did- n't. When the offi- cer walked by again and still saw him eating, he moved for- ward with the process of issu- ing him a citation. T
he individual refused to pro- vide identifica- tion, cursed at and made homo- phobic slurs at the officer who remained calm through out the entire engage- ment.
"The officer was doing his job but context is key," Powers said in a statement.
BART's inde- pendent police auditor is carrying out an investiga- tion, Powers said.
Several BART riders upset with the incident held an "eat-in" on the platform in protest.
"I hope they start focusing on stuff that actually mat- ters like people shooting up dope, hopping the BART, people getting stabbed," Foster told KGO.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine