NYC hospital worker on leave over Citi Bike incident

A viral video shows a hospital worker fighting with a man over a bike
Each person claims they paid for the Citi Bike first
The hospital employee has been placed on leave pending an investigation

Updated: May 19, 2023 / 02:22 PM CDT

(NewsNation) — A New York City health care worker has been placed on leave after video surfaced online showing her fighting with a man over a rentable bike.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue confirmed the employee, who was branded as a “Karen” online, is on leave while the hospital conducts a review.

Video posted online Saturday shows the white woman, identified by her lawyer as Sarah Comrie, screaming for help as she tries to wrestle a Citi Bike from a Black man who claims he rented it.

Another man in scrubs behind her suggests the man let Comrie have the bike, but he says he already rented it. Comrie then lets go and rents another bike after the man in scrubs advises her to do so.

In a statement to The New York Post, Comrie’s lawyer said she has receipts to prove she rented the bike first. The Post reported that the lawyer, Justin Marino, provided two Citi Bike receipts from May 12 timestamped just minutes apart.

Marino claims a group of five people approached Comrie after she rented the first bike, saying it was theirs.

“One or more individuals in that group physically pushed her bike (with her on it) back into the docking station, causing it to re-lock,” Marino said in the written statement to The Post.

The receipts were also shared with Insider, which reported the Citi Bike identification number in the video and the one on the first receipt match. No charge was logged for the first bike that was re-locked into the station a minute after it was unlocked, while a second receipt shows payment for a bike from the same station.

Marino says his client used the second bike for a 25-minute ride home.

“Everyone who’s accused her of a crime of stealing the bike — it’s outrageous, and it doesn’t make any sense,” Marino told Insider.

The video, which has been viewed more than 40 million times on Twitter, prompted reaction from some who said the interaction was racist.

The hospital called the video “disturbing.”

“We are sorry this happened,” the hospital said in a statement. “NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is committed to providing the highest quality of care to all New Yorkers with dignity, cultural sensitivity and compassion.”