Writer Alex O’Keefe shared a video last week of MTA police in New York placing him in handcuffs for alleged disorderly conduct, while warning his Instagram followers that “this country is growing more psycho by the day.”
O’Keefe, a speechwriter who was also a staff writer for the hit series “The Bear,” alleged in an Instagram post shared Thursday that police detained him on a New York train after an “old white woman” complained about how he was sitting. O’Keefe alleged in his Instagram caption and in video of his interaction with law enforcement that the woman took issue with the “one black person on the train.”
A spokesperson for the MTA Police Department confirmed in a statement that officers responded Thursday morning to a “report of a disorderly passenger” at the Fordham Metro-North station in the Bronx. A conductor reported that a 31-year-old passenger occupied two seats and “refused to remove his feet from one of the seats.” According to New York City Transit Rules of Conduct and Fines, disorderly conduct can include occupying more than one seat and placing one’s foot on a seat on a “station, platform or conveyance.”
Police, citing body camera footage and on-board security footage, say O’Keefe “was observed with both legs stretched across an adjacent seat” and allege he refused police directions to exit the train onto the platform and to board a following train. The statement adds that O’Keefe delayed service “for several hundred other riders for six minutes” and was handcuffed and removed from the train.
Police issued O’Keefe a summons for disorderly conduct and he “was not placed under arrest at any time,” the statement said.
O’Keefe shared his side of the incident on Instagram. The woman who complained about his manner of sitting brought her grievances to the conductor, who phoned police and stopped the train, he wrote. He also alleges that a friend of the woman told him, “‘You’re not the minority anymore.’” O’Keefe added that police “arrested” him without “even talking to the Karen who reported the one black person on the train” and that only other Black passengers recorded the dispute.
On Instagram, O’Keefe shared photos of the woman who allegedly complained and another passenger. He also posted video of four officers surrounding him as he faces a wall with his hands behind his back. “They just saw the Black guy and arrested [me],” he says in the video.
O’Keefe’s video documenting his detainment circulated on social media over the weekend. In a statement shared Tuesday, O’Keefe denied the allegations against him and said the “last thing any Black man wants is a viral arrest video.”
“I worked my entire life in politics and culture to be taken seriously, and to make our country a better place. But my accomplishments and awards cannot protect me from the violence we’ve all normalized,” he said. “American life is full of brutal irony.”
In addition to “The Bear,” O’Keefe has written for the climate activist group the Sunrise Movement and worked with Democratic politicians including Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Charles Booker, according to his website. He was among a group of “The Bear” scribes to earn a WGA Award in 2023 when the the show was named best comedy series.
In his statement, O’Keefe added that the incident occurred four days after his wedding as he was on his way to work. He also said he felt a white man would not be subject to the same treatment, adding “Sitting while Black is not illegal.” He further alleged that race played a role in the incident and police response.
“I am grateful for the overwhelming love and solidarity I have received. Every worker deserves a peaceful commute,” he said. “I hope by sharing my story, New York becomes a safer city for all.”
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