A video of a woman racially profiling a black man and accusing him of stealing her son's cellphone at a Walmart only to realize that her son had forgotten his phone in the car is being widely circulated on social media.
On Monday, Ya'shear Bryant posted the video on Facebook and YouTube saying he was shopping at a Moreno Valley Walmart when the woman started accusing him of stealing her son's phone.
'Excuse Me, Do You Have My Son's Phone?'
Bryant explains the woman and her son were in the same aisle as him when he overheard the woman questioning her son about the whereabouts of his phone. Bryant added that there were 9 other people around but accused him of the theft because he was the only "black man with tattoos."
Even after Bryant told the woman that he did not have her son's phone, she started following him around, continuing to accuse him of stealing the phone and stating she was going to call the police. The woman then pursues Bryant out of the store and into the parking lot, at which point he pulls out his cellphone and starts recording.
"She runs up to me and says, 'Excuse me, you have my son's phone?," Bryant says in the video as he and the unidentified woman are standing in the parking lot.
Woman Cites Phone's Location-Tracker as Evidence
Bryant says that the woman tracked the phone's location and it said that the device was located in the parking lot next to his car.
The woman is heard telling Bryant that they're going to "fix this" and wait for the police to arrive. He then asks her what she will do once she realizes he never had the phone, "What do I get? Just an apology?"
"Sure," the woman responds.
Seconds later, Bryants starts walking towards his car but the woman blocks his path, saying the phone's location "marks that you're here," and demanding that he stay there until he gives the phone back.
Woman's Son Walks in With His Phone in Hand
The woman then continues following Bryant as he turns around and returns to the Walmart, where he explains the situation to an employee.
"I have a family. I'm a married man ..." he continues. "I'm dealing with this woman's irateness because her son can't be responsible for a phone. That's not my fault. But being racially profiled? That's gonna be hers."
Moments later, the woman's son walks into the frame with the missing phone in hand.
"Her son found it in the car," Bryant says as the woman is seen talking to the child. "Now I'm gonna press charges," Bryant tells the woman before asking her for her name.
"No. You go f*ck yourself!," the woman says before walking away. Watch the full video below:
Woman Under Investigation By Employer
Shortly after the video went viral, internet sleuths identified the woman as an employee of a California-based healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente from the t-shirt she was wearing and drew the company's attention to the incident.
The company later put out a statement condemning the woman's actions and said it was investigating it. "Thank you for sharing this. This video has been brought to our attention and we are actively investigating it. The conduct in this video does not in any way reflect the views or beliefs of Kaiser Permanente," the company said in a tweet posted as a reply to the video on Twitter.
Bryant's Wife Sets Up GoFundMe for Legal Expenses
Bryant's wife has now set up a GoFundMe page and plans to take legal action against the woman. "Hello My Name is Brishette, I am making this "go fund me" page to seek civil re-enforcement and legal action for my husband and other people that have went through these same situations," she wrote in the description.
"People do not OVERSTAND how sensitive this situation can be, My husband could not have made it home to me and our children," she added. "This not about the color of our skin, this is about the safety of our men."
