San Francisco Woman Allegedly Angered Over Child Selling Water

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A San Francisco mother's Instagram post was going viral this weekend after she said a woman called the police over her daughter selling water. The mother, identified as Erin Austin by USA Today, said her daughter was selling water outside her SoMa apartment building when a woman, identified as Alison Ettel by the San Francisco Chronicle, called the police.

Austin told USA Today her daughter was using the money to save for a trip to Disneyland after Austin lost her job. She said Ettel asked her daughter for a permit to sell water.

In the Instagram video, Austin said "This woman don't want a little girl selling water."

Ettel, who is on the phone, is heard saying "Yeah, illegally selling water without a permit."

The mother responds with "On my property."

Ettel then says, "It's not your property."

Despite what is seen in the video, Ettel told the Chronicle she did not call the police. The San Francisco Police Department also told the newspaper it "had no recent contact with an 8-year-old girl."

Ettel also told the newspaper, "Believe me, I wish I never had done that.”

The video of the incident went viral over the weekend, with the Instagram post receiving nearly 1 million views. By Sunday, social media users were referring to Ettel as "Permit Patty."

The video also caught the attention of well-known activists such as Shaun King, who tweeted "They want police to kill us. The girl was causing no harm. They know what happens when they call the police. This is evil."

King also referred to an incident that happened in Oakland earlier this year when a woman called police to report about a group of black people having a barbecue in a non-grilling area of the park. The image of that woman, now known as "BBQ Becky," has since become the focus of several memes.

--Photo via Shutterstock