A pregnant New York City nurse accused of stealing a Citibike from a black man outside a hospital has been named by friends as they are raising money for her legal fees.
Sarah Comrie, 36, has been identified in a GoFundMe calling for donations to help fund the legal bills to “save her livelihood and reputation.”
It’s because DailyMail.com can reveal the nurse’s Citibike receipt — which her lawyer says proves that the bike she was holding in the footage was booked by her, as the number on the handlebar matches the document.
Justin Marino, representing Comrie, says the documents show the six-month-pregnant doctor’s assistant booked the Citibike outside Bellevue Hospital after she finished her shift.
The documents show that the ride was eventually canceled and she was not charged, before booking a new bike minutes after the incident.
Sarah Comrie, 36, has been identified in a GoFundMe calling for donations to help fund the legal bills to ‘save her livelihood and reputation’
It’s because DailyMail.com can reveal the nurse’s Citibike evidence — which her attorney claims shows the number on the handlebars of the bike she was holding in the footage matches her document
Speaking to DailyMail.com, he said: “The receipts show unequivocally that she got the bike first.
“But there is no animosity towards the men in the video. We honestly wish them the best in the future.
“The focus is on clearing her name and prosecuting the publications and high-profile names that slandered her.”
A fundraiser for the nurse has raised more than $950 so far, with her friends saying the “highly publicized incident” portrayed her as a “racist Karen,” which has since been proven to be “a lie, but the damage is already done.” .
Comrie, wearing blue scrubs that read “NYC Health + Hospitals,” could be seen screaming for help and breaking down in tears as a crowd gathered around them when the video first emerged.
In the clip, a friend of the man can be heard defending him, saying that the woman – branded as ‘Karen’ after the video – was in fact trying to steal from him.
Marino has vehemently denied these allegations on behalf of his client in a statement referring to the receipts.
The first receipt shows that the bike seen in the video was paid for and taken away before being locked again a minute later – identified by the number on the handle.
The documents show that the ride was eventually canceled and she was not charged, before booking a new bike minutes after the incident
Sarah Comrie accused of stealing a Citi Bike from a young black man who ‘paid’ for the two-wheeler, her lawyer claims
According to him, a second receipt is proof that a second bicycle was taken from the same docking station, with which Comrie used to ride home.
Marino said his client was forced to buy a second Citi Bike after being “berated and pressured” to do so.
Justin Marino represents the pregnant Bellevue Hospital employee who was filmed in a now-viral video showing the incident
He says Comrie has since been sent on leave by NYC Health + Hospitals after the encounter was taped — but added that the interaction was “incomplete and facts were missing.”
The pregnant Comrie reportedly had just completed a 12-hour shift before boarding an available bike that “no individual sat on or touched” and paid through the app.
His statement added: “One or more individuals in that group physically pushed her bike (with her on it) back into the docking station, causing it to lock again.
“When blocking the QR code, this person’s arm touched my client’s pregnant belly, a condition she made them aware of.
During this time and throughout the rest of the video, about five individuals told her to get off the bike and harassed her.
“The fact that someone treats another like this is tragic, especially a visibly pregnant woman.”
At one point, Comrie accuses the man of assault, saying he’s “hurting my unborn baby,” though the man says she put his hand on her stomach.
Comrie could even be seen crying in the video as she jumped onto the contested bike
The New York attorney went on to defend his client’s reputation, saying “her entire life has been focused on helping others, regardless of their background.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to Bellevue Hospital for comment, but has not received a response.
A roughly 90-second video of the incident was posted to TikTok and Twitter and shows Comrie arguing with the man outside Bellevue over the weekend.
One of the man’s friends tells the Comrie that he is recording the situation while the man has his hand on the bike.
She then screams for help, saying, “Help! Help me! Please help me!’ But the man’s friend, off screen, tells her, “This isn’t your bike.”
The hospital worker then yells for help again, asking the man to “please get out.”
She then takes off her hospital badge in an apparent attempt to hide her identity, as one of the men could be heard asking her, “You know you’re not getting this bike?”
The video showed Comrie screaming for help and warning the men that she was pregnant
A video of about 90 seconds of the incident was posted to TikTok and on Twitter, Comrie can be seen arguing with a man outside Bellevue Hospital in New York City (pictured)
Comrie screams for help again and tries to get on the rental bike, before swiping the man’s phone.
“Why are you taking his phone?” one of the man’s friends asks her. ‘What is wrong with you? Don’t touch his phone, don’t touch his phone,” he tells the hospital worker.
Comrie then tells the man that he is “hurting my unborn baby,” to which the man replies, “Put your belly on my hand.”
The woman then turns and starts screaming for help again, whereupon one of her colleagues approaches.
The man tries to explain: ‘This is my bicycle, it is on my account’ and says to the woman: ‘Please go away’.
At that point, the woman can be seen seemingly crying, though the man’s friends say they are fake tears.
Bellevue Hospital has announced that it is investigating the incident with its employee
She then continues to climb on the bike, hysterical with tears, as her colleague suggests they just “reset the bike.”
But the man’s friends keep defending him, saying, “It’s his, it’s his.”
One of the friends then again accuses the woman of “faking crying” and tells her to stop, while the man asks her not to “touch me again.”
Comrie then gets off the bike and apparently stops crying when she pulls out her phone.
“Not a tear has fallen, ma’am,” the friend says at the end of the video.
Per Citi Bike’s policy, anyone who leaves a bike outside for more than 45 minutes will be charged $0.17 for each additional minute and may have their account suspended.
If a customer does not return a bike within 24 hours, the account holder will be charged a lost or stolen bike fee of $1,200 plus tax.
A spokesman for the New York Police Department said it has not received any 911 calls or reports of the incident, but is aware of the video.
Meanwhile, Bellevue Hospital said in a statement that it is investigating the incident.
“We recently became aware of an incident that occurred off-campus over the weekend that appears to involve one of our employees,” it said.
“We are sorry this happened and we are looking into the incident.”
The hospital added that it is “committed to providing all New Yorkers with the highest quality of care with dignity, cultural sensitivity and compassion.”
The incident has been compared to Amy Cooper, dubbed the “Central Park Karen,” who called the police in 2020 for a black bird watcher and lost her job.
Cooper – who accused a black bird watcher of threatening her in 2020 – lost a lawsuit against her former employer for firing her after the September 2022 incident.
At the time, she claimed she was illegally fired and falsely portrayed as a racist by New York investment house Franklin Templeton after the May 25, 2020 incident.
The following day, May 26, 2020, Franklin Templeton said in a tweet — which was liked 277,000 times — that it had conducted a legitimate investigation and “determined indisputably” that Cooper was racist and fired her.