‘Just Take Your Feet Off!’: MTA Slams Black Man Detained in Viral Video After White Woman’s 911 Call Over How He Sat on a Train
An award-winning Black screenwriter was removed from a train by police after he said an "old white lady" called 911 to report him because she didn't like the way he was sitting. Alex O'Keefe, a screenwriter who worked on the hit Hulu drama series, "The Bear," recorded the moments he was detained by police officers and removed from a Metropolitan Transportation Authority train. "I was arrested on the @MTA train to Connecticut today, pulled off, handcuffed, and detained. An old white woman got on the train and immediately pointed at me and told me to correct how I was sitting," O'Keefe wrote in an Instagram post. "I refused so she went to the conductor and complained. The conductor called the police and stopped the train." Alex O'Keefe was handcuffed and detained by NYPD officers on Sept. 19, 2025. (Photo: Instagram/dotgov) In the footage, O'Keefe maintains he hasn't done "anything illegal" as police detain him. He claimed that while they were waiting for the police to arrive, the 911 caller's friend said, "You're not the minority anymore." ‘Say It Again!’: Black Man Corners White Man Who Called Him a Racial Slur and His Next Move Goes Viral "They pulled me off the train and arrested me without even talking to the Karen who reported the one black person on the train," O'Keefe continued. "On the platform, the police detained me and interrogated me. Only Black folks stayed nearby and recorded the arrest. When I demanded a lawyer and reminded them they didn’t even take a statement from the woman who complained, they eventually released me. This country is growing more psycho by the day." View this post on Instagram A post shared by dotgov (@dotgov) Another video shows four police officers surrounding a handcuffed O'Keefe as he's being questioned. O'Keefe drew recognition and acclaim for his work on the Emmy award-winning series, "The Bear," which follows a Michelin-starred chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to take over his late brother's sandwich shop. O'Keefe was also a speechwriter for politicians like Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey. Clips of his detainment have been widely shared online, with many people expressing outrage over the police call. "'Correct how you are sitting' is insane," one Instagram user wrote. "This is beyond ridiculous and awful," another person said. "There’s nothing in that video that would make me doubt AO’s version of events. And then it’s further backed up by the police releasing him without charges. You all seem to forget that racism was hot and heavy when that old lady was in her prime, and it’s still here," another comment read. MTA officials told The Associated Press that O'Keefe was sitting with both legs stretched across an adjacent seat, which is a violation of MTA rules. “The police have to get involved because somebody won’t take his feet off the seat?” MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said during a press conference. “Just take your feet off the seat. It’s that simple. And respect other passengers. But we’ll take a look at the video and deal with all the dramas that seem to come out of these simple interactions these days.”
