Black Former ‘The Bear’ writer handcuffed on train after his bogus complaint of racism

Alex O’Keefe, a writer for FX’s award-winning series The Bear, said he was detained by police and removed from a Metro-North train after a confrontation over how he was sitting.

O’Keefe, who is Black, shared video and images of the incident on his Instagram account. The Metro Transit Authority (MTA) Police Department confirmed the incident occurred Thursday at the Fordham Metro-North station in the Bronx.

According to authorities, police responded to a complaint about a 31-year-old “disorderly passenger” who had refused to remove his feet from a seat after reportedly occupying two seats.

“I was arrested on the @MTA train to Connecticut today, pulled off, handcuffed, and detained,” O’Keefe wrote on social media. “An old white woman got on the train and immediately pointed at me and told me to correct how I was sitting. I refused, so she went to the conductor and complained. The conductor called the police and stopped the train.”

MTA police told ABC News that O’Keefe did not comply with officers’ orders to leave the train. When he refused, he was handcuffed and escorted off the train. Officials emphasized that he was not formally arrested.

Video shared by O’Keefe shows officers attempting to handcuff him while he points to an elderly woman and says, “You’re going to arrest the one Black dude on the train because this white woman said she didn’t like the way I was sitting on the train.” The footage also captures a struggle between O’Keefe and officers.

O’Keefe posted still images of the elderly woman and an elderly man, along with a third-party video of him in handcuffs outside the train. He also wrote that an alleged friend of the woman told him, “You’re not the minority anymore.”

In his social media post, O’Keefe criticized police handling of the situation. “The police told me to leave the train, I refused and asked what was I doing illegally,” he wrote. “They said I was disturbing the peace by not leaving the train. They pulled me off the train and arrested me without even talking to the Karen who reported the one Black person on the train.”

MTA police stated that after responding at approximately 10:25 a.m., the passenger was told to exit onto the platform to board the next train. When he refused, delaying service for several hundred riders for about six minutes, he was handcuffed and removed. The passenger was issued a summons for disorderly conduct and allowed to continue his trip on the next train.

Authorities confirmed that body camera footage of the incident exists but is not publicly available.

Under MTA rules, riders can be fined $50 for occupying more than one seat or placing feet on seats, and may be ejected if they refuse to comply with officer instructions.

O’Keefe concluded his post with a pointed comment on social media: “This country is growing more psycho by the day. What will you do about it?”

FX declined to comment when reached by ABC News.

ABC News’ Armando Garcia and Anastasia Williams contributed to this report.