A man who was detained in San Francisco’s public transportation station for eating a sandwich last week sparked an “eat-in” protest Saturday.
“I’ve got my lunch here, it’s very threatening as you can see,” J.J. Naughton said to KGO-TV while he ate his sandwich in the Embarcardero Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train station.
About 30 people staged the eat-in after a rider, Steve Foster, was confronted and handcuffed Monday by a transit police officer for eating his own sandwich while waiting for a train at the Pleasant Hill station.
“I’m definitely upset, mad, a little frustrated and angry about it,” Mr. Foster said.
A video showed an officer holding Mr. Foster’s bag as he declined to provide his name multiple times, insulted the officer and at one point used a homophobic slur.
He was “lawfully” handcuffed but later released when he provided his name and was cited for the incident, according to a BART statement, KGO-TV reported.
While BART has said state law prevents it from allowing food to be eaten while in the station’s paid parts, Kelly Groth passed out sandwiches as a “Brunch on BART” protest.
“People should be able to eat on the platform without getting harassed,” Ms. Groth said.
One of the protest attendees was BART Board of Directors member Janice Li, who brought her own lunch and agreed with the protesters.
“I realize some things are illegal with our penal code, but I want to be mindful of how we’re using resources to enforce our system,” Ms. Li said.
BART said the incident is being reviewed by an independent auditor.
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