Video of woman calling cops on 8-year-old girl for selling water goes viral
SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman went viral after calling police on an 8-year-old girl who was selling water bottles to San Francisco Giants fans.
The controversial call was caught on video.
The woman, dubbed 'Permit Patty' by those on social media, but later identified as Alison Ettel, said that the little girl was "loudly" selling water outside her apartment for hours. The child's mother, Erin Austin, confronted the caller.
"She comes out and demands the permit for my daughter. She said if we didn't give it to her she'd call the cops," the girl's mother said. "So I said, 'OK, call the cops.' And she did."
"The lady called the police because I didn't have a permit," said the girl.
Ettel told ABC News that she never spoke to the little girl. However, she said her building's security guard first tried to get the girl and her mom to keep the noise down or move.
Ettel said she "did phone the police but not to report them" and that she "simply wanted to know if what they were doing was legal."
Austin posted a video on Instagram stories showing her daughter out selling water again.
A little girl sells water in San Francisco in this screenshot from Instagram stories.
-----
Send a News Tip to Action News
Learn More About 6abc Apps
