#PeeingWhileBlack: Black actresses claim they were arrested for using a bathroom for too long
In yet another incident of black people being arrested for mundane reasons, three black actresses from Atlanta, Georgia claimed that they were wrongfully arrested for using a bathroom at a Houston restaurant because they were taking "too long".
The actresses – Brittany Lucio, Asia'h Sharrell Epperson and Erica Walker — have launched an appeal against their arrest and have called the district attorney to probe the incident, according to The New York Post.
Footage of the incident was released on social media and has now gone viral garnering thousands of views. The clip is gaining traction on Twitter with the hashtag #BoycottHoustons and the video posted on Instagram by Lucio has garnered over 56,000 views.
The three women said that they arrived at the restaurant around 10 pm on May 13 and asked to use the restroom while their friends were eating. The women said that even though the kitchen had closed, they were allowed to use the washroom.
The women claim that, after 10 minutes, they were forcibly removed from the restroom by an off-duty officer and a security guard who reportedly asked them to leave the premises at least three times.
The women alleged that, when they ignored him, the officer grabbed Luicio's wrist. She resisted and said, "Get your hands off me!"
The officer allegedly grabbed her wrist again and she told him: "Get your f–king hands off me. You ain’t about to touch me."
The security guard reportedly said that Lucio punched the guard in the mouth after resisting. Shortly after the incident, multiple officers arrived and arrested all three women for illegal trespassing, according to reports.
Lucio, while writing about the incident on Instagram, said: "I am completely disheartened and shocked about what happened at Houston's because of the unprovoked and unjust actions of the police officer. I was bruised and battered, but I am not broken."
The incident also spurred a #PeeingWhileBlack hashtag on Twitter with people saying that they were shocked by the incident.
The incident comes a month after two black men were arrested in a Starbucks cafe for not buying anything. In another such incident, a white woman had called the cops on a black family having a barbecue. Also, a white woman had recently called the police on a black property developer who was inspecting one of his own houses, according to reports.