By Gillian Edevane, nbcchicago.com
A video showing University of California police ticketing an unlicensed street vendor and seizing money from his wallet at UC Berkeley went viral on social media this weekend, drawing criticism from those who claim the officer went too far by confiscating the man’s money.
Now, a GoFundMe to support the street vendor has collected more than $54,000, as of Tuesday morning. A petition to fire the police officer who issued the citation has collected more than 28,000 signatures.
UC Berkeley Police 👮🏼 y’all some punk ass bitches a ticket is understandable but to take his money away fuck the police pic.twitter.com/B8j2UcvREG
— Moreno (@Moreno) September 10, 2017
As the video continued to rack up views late into Monday afternoon, UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy issued a statement reiterating the school’s commitment to creating a “climate of tolerance, inclusion, and diversity.”
“While I cannot comment on the specifics of this particular case, our practice is to issue warnings before giving a citation,” Biddy said. “In a case such as this, it is typical to collect any suspected illegal funds and enter them into evidence.”
UCPD officials said that three other people were warned about vending without a permit, but the vendor in the video was the only person who was given a ticket.
