Americans rally behind street vendor who had money seized by cop for operating without proper permit

Americans are rallying behind a California street vendor after a video went viral showing a cop seizing money from his wallet for not having the proper permits to operate his food cart.

GoFundMe

After video of the incident went viral, Americans decided to take action in their own hands and correct the perceived wrong by the University of California, Berkeley police officer.

As of Tuesday morning, more than $54,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe page for the vendor, who is known only by the name “Juan.” More than 3,500 people have donated in just two days.

A petition calling for the University of California to terminate the officer has also garnered lots of support, amassing nearly 30,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.

What happened

Martin Flores, an alumnus of UC-Berkley, was walking outside the school's football stadium on Saturday when he spotted a campus police officer grab a food vendor’s wallet and take the money inside. That’s when he whipped out his phone and hit “record."

"That’s not right, man,” Flores said in the video. “That’s not right."

"You’re gonna take his hard-earned money?” Flores asked the officer. “People can drink on campus at football games and no tickets, but a hard-working man selling hot dogs earning a living gets his money taken away and a ticket."

The video shows the officer taking Juan’s money and saying "this is law and order in action."

Charges of racism

Flores told the Washington Post he believes the officer singled out Juan because of his appearance as a Latino.

"I just thought that it was selective enforcement,” Flores told the Post. "Selective enforcement on an immigrant, on a hard-working street vendor trying to make a living.”

Juan was the only vendor cited with a ticket. Three others were arrested for vending without a permit on Saturday. However, each was released with just a warning, according to the Post.

Damage control

Scott Biddy, vice chancellor at UC-Berkeley, said in a statement Monday that the officer was just doing his job. He said campus officers were warned to monitor for illegal vending because of concerns over public health and human trafficking. He also said seizing money from illegal vendors on the spot is typical. Juan's money was submitted as evidence against him.

Biddy also confirmed the university is investigating the officer's actions, while reiterating the campus is "deeply committed to building a climate of tolerance, inclusion and diversity,” especially for members of "our marginalized communities of color."

The video

UC Berkeley Police 👮🏼 y'all some punk ass bitches a ticket is understandable but to take his money away fuck the police pic.twitter.com/B8j2UcvREG

— Moreno (@Moreno) September 10, 2017