On July 3, 2024, a video capturing the arrest of a man for 'illegally eating a sandwich' on a train platform in San Francisco went viral on social media.
The incident has outraged many people, who say the police were abusing their power.
The man, named Steve Foster, said he is considering taking legal action after the ordeal.
According to the video recorded by Foster's girlfriend, Nicole Hernandez, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) representatives confronted and detained Foster.
While eating sandwich and drinking on trains or platforms is prohibited, BART later apologized to Foster for the officers' actions. However, Foster said he did not accept this apology.
Foster mentioned that he was unaware of the rule prohibiting eating on the BART platform and wished he had been informed about it.
"It would have been simpler if he would have come up to me and said hey, you can't eat on BART nor on the platform. I should have been informed because I didn't know I couldn't eat on the platform," Foster angrily said.
On social media, the footage shows the officer arrived to detain and escort him away.
The footage shows the officer grabbing Foster's bag and refusing to let him leave before other officers arrive to detain and escort him away.
Hernandez can be heard questioning why so many officers are dealing with such a minor infraction, compared to other people she has seen taking their bicycles on the escalator, going past the fare gates without paying, and drinking alcohol on the platform.
This is a case of finding the easiest arrest possible, just to be doing something, instead of actually trying to find bad guys... The bad guys aren't out in the street eating sandwiches, one user said.
So people are now not allowed to have a meal in public anymore if that's not insanity then I don't know what is, the second user said.
That's absolutely discusting and totally uncalled for. The cop should be arrested for cruelty!! The third user commented.
All a cop does is enforce laws, how bout why is this a law… see your elected officials, not the cops fault… doing his job, another wrote.
An off-duty police officer, Corporal Allen Ganter from Meriden, was caught on dashcam hitting a driver who honked at him at a red light.
The driver, Thomas Brocuglio, honked at Ganter because he was trying to turn right on red. In the video, Brocuglio can be heard saying, "What are you doing?"
Ganter got out of his car, showed his police badge, and told Brocuglio he could not turn right on red.
Brocuglio argued that the sign allowed it. Ganter became more aggressive, threatened to give Brocuglio a ticket, and asked for his badge number.
Then, Ganter reached through Brocuglio's window and punched him. Brocuglio reported the assault to the police.
After Brocuglio's complaint, police officers went to Ganter's home, and body camera footage showed Ganter admitting his mistake.
The Meriden police department investigated and found that Ganter had broken the rules. He was charged with breach of peace and third-degree assault.
Ganter received a five-day suspension without pay and had to attend de-escalation training for three years. He was also permanently removed from his job as a school resource officer and placed on administrative duty.
