Berkeley hot dog vendor whose cash was confiscated by officer gets $87K from GoFundme effort

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Two weeks after a hot dog vendor at UC Berkeley had his wallet and cash confiscated after being cited for not having a proper permit, he's received thousands of dollars from the community.

Beto Matias was presented with a check of over $87,000, courtesy of a GoFundMe campaign.

Supporters say they can't understand why police turn a blind eye on other infractions after a Bears game to focus on vendors.

"And people are violating all kinds of rules that we all accept on game day. People are jaywalking, we're okay with that. People are drinking, we're okay with that. But why are we going to pick on a young man who's providing for his family?" Martin Flores said.

Flores taped video of the confiscation that went viral.

Berkeley police have stressed the officer did everything correctly and that the money he took from the vendor was needed as evidence.

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