SAN FRANCISCO – The white woman dubbed “Permit Patty” by the internet who appeared to call police on an 8-year-old girl selling water in San Francisco said Monday that she received an onslaught of hate mail and death threats since a video of the confrontation went viral, adding that her actions were never racially motivated.
NBC News reports that Alison Ettel was attacked online after video surfaced of her trying to hide while she was on the phone gained more than 1 million views after it was posted Saturday on Instagram.
Watch video of the confrontation that was also posted to Twitter below.
So my little cousin was selling water and didn't have a permit so this lady decided to call the cops on an 8 year old. #PermitPatty pic.twitter.com/SiL61pnAgl
— November 12th 🦂 (@_ethiopiangold) June 23, 2018
Erin Austin, the mother of 8-year-old girl, Jordan Rodgers, said her daughter was selling bottles of water in front of their San Francisco home in an attempt to raise money because Austin recently lost her job and Jordan wanted to get enough money to pay for a trip to Disneyland, according to NBC.
In the video, Ettel can be seen walking away as Austin records her. “This woman don’t want a little girl to sell some water. She’s calling police on an 8-year-old little girl,” Austin said in the video. “You can hide all you want, the whole world is going to see you, boo.”
Ettel claims the Instagram post only showed a portion of what happened and that she did not call the police on the 8-year-old girl, the Huffington Post reported.
Ettel said that she was working in her car with her windows open on a hot day while Austin and Rodgers shouted as they tried to sell water. She then approached the mother and daughter and said that she politely, but sternly, asked them to keep it down.
But Austin claims otherwise, and says that Ettel did not cordially approach her or her daughter.
“She never asked us to be quiet. She came out and directly demanded to see a permit to sell water from an 8-year-old,” Austin said.
People online are drawing comparisons to a recent clip that went viral from Oakland, California, in which a woman was crying after calling the police on men who were having a barbecue in the park.
In her interview Monday with “Today,” Ettel said that she’s not proud of her behavior and would like to apologize to the mother and daughter.
While selling water may not have gone as planned, Austin’s daughter Jordan is one step closer to going to the “Happiest Place on Earth” after a Twitter follower purchased four tickets to Disneyland for Rodgers, their family said.
Austin and Rogers said that they would not be accepting Ettel’s apology, NBC News reported.