'Racism Should Be Stopped,' Says 9-Year-Old Accused Of Grope

FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — The 9-year-old boy whom a white woman called 911 to report because she mistakenly believed he had groped her was crying when he addressed the crowds of people who gathered on an Flatbush street corner Monday evening to speak out against a mounting number of 911 calls made against innocent people of color.

"Racism should be stopped," Jeremiah told the protesters, politicians and reporters who gathered outside Sahara Deli Market on Albemarle Road and Flatbush Avenue.

"Please don't do bad things."

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams hosted the community conversation so that residents could discuss video of the 911 call that has since gone viral and which Adams has since called a “modern-day Emmett Till moment.”

"Don't even worry about those tears," he told Jeremiah. "You are not alone."

"It's okay to be afraid," said Jeremiah's mother. "This right here was not your fault, Jeremiah."

His mother also took time to thank Jason Littlejohn, the man who posted the video to Facebook last Wednesday and has since sparked a public shaming against Teresa Klein, 53, or as he dubbed her, “Cornerstore Caroline.”

“I was just sexually assaulted by a child,” Klein can be heard telling police. “The son grabbed my ass and she decided to yell at me.”

Klein returned Friday to the store, where a reporter convinced her to watch the deli’s security footage from Wednesday evening which shows the boy's backpack brushing against Klein, the New York Times reported.

“Young man,” she reportedly said, “I don’t know your name but I’m sorry.”

Klein declined to apologize to the boy's mother and said her 911 call was spurred by outrage, not racism, according to the New York Post.

“She could have walked away, but she didn’t," Klein said. "I let my temper show ... I’ve been called racist before, and I’m not.”

Many people have since called for Klein's arrest, asserting that she identified herself as a police officer and broke the law, a claim Adams said the Brooklyn District Attorney's office is investigating.

The rising number of 911 calls on people of color who have not committed crimes — including the Park Slope woman who called police because another woman sought shelter from the rain and a Lyft passenger who reported his driver wouldn't let him listen to music — spurred state Senator Jesse Hamilton to propose such calls be considered hate crimes.

Hamilton proposed the legislation after a self-described Trump fan called police because State Senator Jesse Hamilton was passing out campaign fliers on Flatbush Avenue, about a mile away from the Sahara Deli Market.

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte told the crowd she would pursue the legislation.

"I cannot imagine how traumatized this young boy is," she said. "People who misuse 911 should be penalized."

Header photo courtesy of GoogleMaps