BART commuters staged an “eat-in” protest at Embarcadero Station on Saturday after a viral video showed an incident involving an African-American rider eating a sandwich on a BART train platform that ended with the passenger handcuffed and cited.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Photos (below) and videos posted to Twitter showed about a dozen people, including BART Director Janice Li, eating sandwiches and other types of food on the station’s platform.
On Nov. 4, Steve Foster was stopped and later handcuffed by BART police officers as he was holding a sandwich. The video has had more than a million views on Facebook and Twitter, with many pointing out that eating is commonplace on the BART and that the man was targeted by a white police officer because he was black.
BART said in a statement that state law prohibits people from eating or drinking in the paid portions of the station.
“He was not arrested. He was cited for eating, which is a violation of state law,” said BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost.
The Pleasant Hill station is now being investigated. More people may protest at BART stations this week by eating sandwiches on platforms and other paid areas, according to KGO San Francisco.
