A pregnant New York City nurse accused of taking a Citibike from a black man outside a hospital has been named by friends as they raise money for her legal fees.
Sarah Comrie, 36, has been identified in a GoFundMe which is calling for donations to help fund the legal bills to ‘save her livelihood and reputation’.
It comes as DailyMail.com can reveal the nurse’s Citibike receipt – which her lawyer claims proves the bike she was clutching in the footage was booked by her as the number on the handlebars matches the document.
Justin Marino, who is representing Comrie, says the documents show the six-month pregnant physicians assistant had booked the Citibike outside of Bellevue Hospital after finishing her shift.
The documents show that the ride was ultimately canceled, and she wasn’t charged, before booking another bike minutes after the incident.
Sarah Comrie, 36, has been identified in a GoFundMe which is calling for donations to help fund the legal bills to ‘save her livelihood and reputation’
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71156215-12100201-image-a-31_1684443391573.jpg)
It comes as DailyMail.com can reveal the nurse’s Citibike receipts – which her lawyer claims proves the number on the handlebars of bike she was clutching 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 frankly wish them the best in the future.
‘The focus is clearing her name and going after the publications and high profile names that defamed her.’
A fundraiser for the nurse has raised over $950 so far, with her friends saying the ‘much-publicized incident’ painted her as a ‘racist Karen’ which has since proven ‘is a lie, but the damage has been done.’
Comrie, who had on blue scrubs emblazoned with ‘NYC Health + Hospitals, could be seen screaming for help and tearing up 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 the woman – branded a ‘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 which refers to the receipts.
The first receipt shows the bike seen in the video was paid for and taken out before it was re-locked one minute later – identified by the number on the handle.
![The documents show that the ride was ultimately canceled, and she wasn't charged, before booking another bike minutes after the incident](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71153771-12100201-The_documents_show_that_the_ride_was_ultimately_canceled_and_she-m-96_1684442866658.jpg)
The documents show that the ride was ultimately canceled, and she wasn’t charged, before booking another bike minutes after the incident
![Sarah Comrie r accused of taking a Citi Bike from a young black man 'paid' for the two-wheeler her lawyer claims](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71014791-12100201-A_white_Manhattan_hospital_worker_accused_of_taking_a_Citi_Bike_-a-72_1684442288730.jpg)
![The incident was caught on camera in a video that has now gone viral](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71011603-12100201-The_incident_was_caught_on_camera_in_a_video_that_has_now_gone_v-a-71_1684442288726.jpg)
Sarah Comrie accused of taking a Citi Bike from a young black man ‘paid’ for the two-wheeler, her lawyer claims
A second receipt he says is proof of a second bike being taken from the same docking station, which Comrie used to ride home.
Marino said his client was forced to get a second Citi Bike after being ‘heckled and pressured’ to do so.
![Justin Marino is representing the pregnant Bellevue Hospital employee who was filmed in a now viral video which shows the incident taking place](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71136387-12100201-Justin_Marino_is_representing_the_pregnant_Bellevue_Hospital_emp-a-82_1684442613531.jpg)
Justin Marino is representing the pregnant Bellevue Hospital employee who was filmed in a now viral video which shows the incident taking place
He says Comrie has since been put on leave by NYC Health + Hospitals after the encounter was caught on tape – but added the interaction was ‘incomplete and lacking facts.’
Pregnant Comrie reportedly had just finished a 12-hour shift before getting on an available bike which ‘no individuals were on or touching’ 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 re-lock.
‘In blocking the QR code, this individual’s arm was touching my client’s pregnant stomach, a condition of which she had made them aware.
‘Throughout this time and for the remainder of the video, roughly five individuals were telling her to get off the bike and heckling her.
‘The fact anyone would treat another person 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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71011605-12100201-At_one_point_the_woman_accuses_the_man_of_assault_saying_he_s_hu-a-73_1684442320092.jpg)
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 hopped onto the disputed bike](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71011591-12100201-The_woman_could_even_be_seen_crying_in_the_video_as_she_hopped_o-a-74_1684442324702.jpg)
![The man's friends accused the hospital employee of 'fake crying' saying she did not even shed a tear](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71011599-12100201-The_man_s_friends_accused_the_hospital_employee_of_fake_crying_s-a-75_1684442324712.jpg)
Comrie could even be seen crying in the video as she hopped onto the disputed bike
The New York lawyer then went on to defend his client’s reputation saying ‘her entire life has been focused on helping others, irrespective of their background.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Bellevue Hospital for comment but has not recieved a response.
A roughly 90-second video of the incident was posted on TikTok and Twitter and shows Comrie arguing with the man outside of Bellevue over the weekend.
One of the man’s friends tells the Comrie he is recording the situation as 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, offscreen, tells her: ‘This is not your bike.’
The hospital employee then cries out for help again, and asks the man to ‘please get off.’
She then takes off her hospital badge in an apparent effort to hide her identity, as one of the men could be heard asking her: ‘You know you’re not getting this bike?’
![In the video, Comrie could be seen screaming for help as well as warning the men that she was pregnant](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71011593-12100201-In_the_video_the_unidentified_Bellevue_Hospital_employee_could_b-a-77_1684442329160.jpg)
In the video, Comrie could be seen screaming for help as well as warning the men that she was pregnant
![A roughly 90 second video of the incident was posted on TikTok and Twitter shows Comrie arguing with a man outside of New York City's Bellevue Hospital (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71136337-12100201-A_roughly_90_second_video_of_the_incident_was_posted_on_TikTok_a-a-78_1684442335693.jpg)
A roughly 90 second video of the incident was posted on TikTok and Twitter shows Comrie arguing with a man outside of New York City’s Bellevue Hospital (pictured)
Comrie screams for help again and tries to get onto the rental bike, before swiping the man’s phone.
‘Why are you taking his phone?’ one of the man’s friends asks her. ‘What’s wrong with you? Do not touch his phone, do not touch his phone,’ he tells the hospital employee.
Comrie then tells the man that he’s ‘hurting my unborn baby,’ to which the man replies: ‘You put your stomach on my hand.’
The woman then turns around and starts to once again scream for help, at which point one of her coworkers approaches.
The man tries to explain: ‘This is my bike, it’s on my account’ and tells the woman to ‘please move.’
At that point, the woman can be seen apparently crying — though the man’s friends say they are fake tears.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71056149-12100201-image-a-79_1684442338734.jpg)
![Bellevue Hospital has announced that it is investigating the incident involving its employee](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/18/21/71014369-12100201-Bellevue_Hospital_has_announced_that_it_is_investigating_the_inc-a-80_1684442340982.jpg)
Bellevue Hospital has announced that it is investigating the incident involving its employee
She then continues to climb onto the bike, hysterical with tears, as her coworker suggests they just ‘reset the bike.’
But the man’s friends continue to defend him, saying, ‘It’s his, it’s his.’
One of the friends then again accuses the woman of ‘fake crying,’ telling her to stop, while the man asks her to ‘stop touching me.’
Comrie then steps off the bike and apparently stops crying as she pulls out her phone.
‘Not a tear came down miss,’ the friend says as the video ends.
Under Citi Bike’s policies, anyone who keeps a bike out for longer than 45 minutes at a time 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 spokesperson for the New York Police Department said it did not receive any 911 calls or reports about the incident, but is aware of the video.
Meanwhile, Bellevue Hospital said in a statement it is investigating the incident.
‘We have recently become aware of an incident that occurred off campus over the weekend and appears to involve one of our employees,’ it said.
‘We are sorry this happened, and we are reviewing the incident.’
The hospital added that it is ‘committed to providing the highest quality of care to all New Yorkers with dignity, cultural sensitivity and compassion.’
The incident has been compared to Amy Cooper, dubbed the ‘Central Park Karen,’ who called the police on a black birdwatcher in 2020 and lost her job.
Cooper – who accused a black birdwatcher of threatening her in 2020 lost a lawsuit against her former employer for firing her after the incident in September 2022.
At the time she claimed she was illegally fired and falsely portrayed as a racist by New York investment house Franklin Templeton following 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 performed a legitimate investigation and ‘determined indisputably’ that Cooper was racist and terminated her.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk