Activists in LA call for arrest of woman who wrongly accused Black teen of stealing phone at NYC hotel
SOHO, Manhattan (WABC) -- There are renewed calls to arrest the woman seen on video wrongly accusing a 14-year-old Black teenager of stealing her phone.
Miya Ponsetto is the woman seen in the December 26 video, police sources tell ABC News. She has not yet been charged with the incident.
Activists in Los Angeles say that is where Ponsetto lives and they want police in California to take her into custody.
Civil rights activists gathered outside LAPD North Hollywood Police Station on Saturday to call for her arrest.
The encounter with 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. and his father at the Arlo Hotel in SoHo went viral. It turns out Ponsetto had left her phone in an Uber.
Watch the video that was posted on social media below:
She also went after both the teen and his father, Grammy-winning musician Keyon Harrold, who was recording the incident.
The video shows Ponsetto falsely accusing the teen of stealing her phone and then lunging at him and his father while trying to grab his phone. Keyon Harrold Sr. says she scratched him as he tried to protect his son.
RELATED | Black teen accused of stealing phone in viral incident at NYC hotel says he's shell shocked
"This could have gone very wrongly if I had come down after my son," he said. "The idea of trauma goes above any charge that we may have...I bring my son places where he shouldn't have to deal with injustices and shouldn't have to be profiled."
The NYPD says it is considering charges against Ponsetto, ranging from assault to attempted robbery.
Watch: The Harrold family talks to 'GMA':
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