A man in Los Angeles says a woman intentionally coughed on him after he stood up for a Black woman he says was falsely accused of having a weapon.
It happened in the lobby of his apartment building.
Chevy Chen said Melissa Pearl called 911 after she spotted a Black woman she didn’t recognize in the lobby of their building. The woman who Chen identified only as Amour had been in the lobby while she recovered from a migraine headache. Another tenant in the building had allowed her to enter the lobby to recharge her phone. Amour said she decided to spend the night in the lobby rather than attempt to take the bus home with a migraine.
Chen said he heard Pearl tell dispatchers that Amour had a weapon.
“I witness Melissa call the police, lie, and not just any lie, a lie that could have harmed an innocent person. But also, let’s just be real: I saw White privilege. I saw woman using her White privilege against a Black woman, someone who she sought harm to,” wrote Chen on Facebook.
“I spoke up immediately. I confronted her about the lie and I got coughed on. She was trying to hurt me because I wouldn’t allow her to keep lying to dispatch.”
You can see the confrontation in several videos Chen posted on Facebook.
Chen, at first, said he had been asked by Pearl to assist her in getting Amour to leave. However, he refused to cooperate after he realized what was happening.
Chen says he has since gotten a COVID test and tested negative. He has filed a police report against Pearl accusing her of battery.
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