Police: 4 arrested after protesting against market employee for alleged racial slur

A group of people protesting a Bed-Stuy business were arrested Saturday afternoon after they say an employee used a racial slur.

News 12 Staff

Jan 12, 2019, 11:27 PM

Updated 1,930 days ago

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A group of people protesting a Bed-Stuy business were arrested Saturday afternoon after they say an employee used a racial slur.
Police say four people were arrested in front of the Sagal Meat Market on Broadway and Lexington avenues.
Officials tell News 12 they were arrested for disorderly conduct after an officer read a notice warning the dozens of people blocking the sidewalk and business entrance that they would be arrested if they did not disperse.
The dispute started when a man, Demba Kane, confronted workers in the market where he says a employee called him a monkey back on Jan 2nd.
The incident was not caught on camera and workers in the store say they don't think the accused employee would have said that especially after working there for 10 years without a problem.
Reverend Kevin McCall, Kane, his wife and another woman led the protest before being arrested. Workers in the store say that the accused employee was fired and also that they've gotten threatening phone calls since the incident.
News 12 spoke with the market owner's niece who said they have zero tolerance for racist speech and that they fired the accused employee as soon as they found out about the alleged incident.
They also tell News 12 they issued a public apology on Facebook and that they've offered to meet with the Kane family to apologize in person.


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