Friday, March 21, 2014

Google Glass Assault and Robbery at Molotov's Bar, Haight St. February 22, 2014 (warning: profanity)

On Friday, February 21st I was bar hopping in San Francisco with some friends. We made our way from the Mission up to Haight Street and entered Molotov's Bar early morning, Saturday, February 22nd around 1:20am. Here is a picture someone took of me on Haight Street at 1am while I was showing them how to use +Google Glass before entering Molotov's.

Sarah Slocum, Haight Street, February 22nd, 2014, 1:00 am


At first, upon entering Molotov's everything was normal. As soon as I walked in some people as usual noticed I was wearing +Google Glass and were excited, curious and started asking questions. Here is a picture that I took of them about 15 minutes after walking into Molotov's when we were conversing and I was showing them how the camera functions.

Molotov's Bar, February 22nd, 2014 @ 1:37am

After briefly speaking with this group of people another woman came up to me and started asking questions about +Google Glass. I let her try them on and showed her how they worked. Here is the dorky picture that she snapped of me while she was wearing +Google Glass. As you can see all smiles and everything hunkey dory.

Sarah Slocum, Molotov's Bar @ 1:39am

I continued to speak with the woman and explain how they work. I put the glasses back on and took a picture of her two minutes later.

Molotov's Bar, February 22, 2014 @ 1:41am

Shortly there after, one of the two women who I had experienced some hostility and resentment from a bit earlier, escalated her behavior. I had first noticed them a few minutes earlier and experienced their hostility when I walked up to the bar where they were sitting on my left-hand side. One of the women with the short blond wavy hair closest to me turned around, looked at me, rolled her eyes and turned away. The blond woman then kind of shielded the right side of her face exposed to me and leaned into the brown haired Asian woman sitting next to her in a very juvenile manner to gossip clandestinely. I didn't understand why or where their animosity and hostility was coming from and merely thought that they were just immature, jealous, catty women. I paid no attention or mind to them and walked away. Later I thought maybe they thought I was recording them. I had had no interaction with this group of people aside from this, had exchanged no words with them, when the brown haired Asian woman abruptly turned around on the bar stool where she was sitting about 10 feet away from me and vehemently flipped me off and said F* Google... very loudly. I was shocked, taken back, and could not believe what was happening. At this point, feeling threatened and in disbelief, I told them that I was going to record them - hoping and thinking that they would be on better behavior and leave me alone, and if not, hoping to catch it on video. However, this only further provoked them and the brown haired Asian woman and her guy friend immediately jumped up and charged me as you can see in the video below.

First Video Taken at Molotovs 

Immediately after I started recording and informing them that I was doing so, the brown haired Asian woman's response was "Get out of here B*... waaa-boo-hoo, poor thing." Clearly, the response of "waa-boo-hoo" to "I'm recording you" is indicative to the fact that being recorded was not something that she was concerned about (at least at first) as she told +Anisse Gross in +The New Yorker article. To the contrary, this response is synonymous with, so what, who cares, big deal. Additionally, someone who doesn't want to be recorded, doesn't go around flipping off and verbally accosting someone with a camera.

At the same time that I was being heckled, verbally assaulted and told to leave the establishment by the former off-duty bartender as if she owned the place, I was having to move backwards to block her guy friend who was trying to assault me and rip the +Google Glasses off my face. Unfortunately, due to the fact that +Google Glass only records 10 second videos, unless extended, the video cuts out. However, 5 or 10 seconds later, after they retreated about 10 feet away again after informing them that I was only going to post the video online to a few thousand people, I started recording video again, and this time extended it.

2nd Video at Molotov's Bar (10ish secs after the first)

In this video you can see the guy, who later assaults me, standing with his back to me and the former off-duty bartender hiding in front of him. The thought of being recorded and having it posted to 1,000s of people online finally sunk in enough for them to retreat and hide, but not enough for them to stop harassing me. She puts her cellphone up and snaps a picture and then chucks a dirty bar rag at me. At this point, after being flipped off, called a B*, told to get out, being heckled and verbally accosted, having had the guy trying to assault me by ripping the glasses off my face and invading my personal space, the dirty bar rag was the last straw. At this point I am stuttering I am so upset and in such disbelief, and in further disbelief since everything was escalating so fast that no one I was with or anyone in the bar seemed to see or know what was going on. From the time that I was flipped off and she screamed "F*** Google.." to me to the time that the off duty bartender's guy friend rips them off my face and ran out of the bar was about 2 minutes.

After the man and the woman charged me and I started recording the second video, one of the nice guys that I had been speaking with earlier in the group of people at the table came up to me. He seemed to be the only person who had seen them charge me and saw things getting weird.  He says "I'm watching you, they know what you are wearing," at that same time the off duty bartender chucks the dirty wet bar rag at me. He didn't seem to see it though since he was looking at me when it happened. All the while a short little Asian man by the square column and his friend next to him start pointing and laughing at me, thinking that all of this harassment and treatment was really funny and fun and wanting a piece of it. The whole bully gang crowd mentality. The nice guy that was speaking with me continues on not seeming to notice that this wasn't a friendly interaction that was ensuing between me and this group of people.

He continues on and says "That is so F***ing rad" speaking about the +Google Glass. I, at that point, continue on, stuttering, trying to explain to him what is going on: "These F***ing B****es are hating on it [+Google Glass] right now.. I can't even believe it... They are throwing F***in' rags at me." He continues on and says "I just want to be in your place right now." I continue on, trying to explain to him what is going on and who is harassing me. I walk up about 5ft away from the off-duty bartender and point at her and say "This F***ing ugly A** B****." She walks directly up to me and says "You're killing the city" and tries to grab the +Google Glasses off my face. I respond and say "Don't touch me, don't touch me, I will F***ing sue you." The nice guy, who was the only one in the middle of this whole confrontation and witnessing it all, says "She is so mean to you." The former off duty bartender continues saying to the nice guy "I am from San Francisco, and this B**** is killing the city. Boring A** B****es like you (referring to me)." I then flip her off and the nice guy says "She is kinda Lame." I then flip the short Asian guy off who was laughing at me earlier with his friend as he starts walking closer to me and gives me some thug gangster look of intimidation. The nice guy then gives me a hug and I look up so that the +Google Glass doesn't fall off my face and the former off duty bartender retreats.

At this point the "punks" start getting more rowdy and my friend who I came with came over to my side catching wind of the escalating weird situation that had ensued in the last minute+. I continue on "These crazy ass people dude... I don't know what to F***ing do with it." I then say "This B**** is a wanker." She, the off duty bartender, then says "Boring ass techie B****es... Look at it." The short Asian guy then makes gang signs at me. Then I say "Wait, I want to get this white trash, this F***ing trash on tape for as long as I can." The assaulter guy then says "Get out of here" and comes over to me, rips the +Google Glass off my face and runs out of the bar. This whole interaction can be seen in the second video above.

I chased after him outside, leaving my jacket and purse on the bar stool in pursuit of the thief, assaulter, criminal. I run outside after him, grab onto him, he tries to throw me off, we get into a scuffle, I am pleading, yelling and trying to convince him that he is making a serious mistake and that he should give them back. He starts waving them around saying that he is going to smash them and making gestures of throwing them. The bouncer and others are in front of the bar at this point just watching the show. He finally relinquishes my +Google Glass. I tell the bouncer and anyone to get his ID: "I want his ID" I say, "Get his ID." No one does anything or gets it. I run back inside to get my purse and belongings. I find my jacket but my purse is gone. I look around, run back outside look around for someone with my purse, run back inside look around but it is nowhere to be seen. I am yelling at my friends at this point and anyone "Where is my purse?!?" I run back outside and coincidentally find the lenses of +Google Glass in their case on the ground. At that point I realize that whoever took my purse ran outside with it unzipped, they fell out, and that the purse thief had probably run off.

After I had been assaulted, and robbed of my purse, and now with +Google Glass back in my possession, I captured one last 10 second video outside of Molotov's. Feeling further threatened by the short Asian gangster who was approaching me and hoping to further protect myself and possibly capture video of the thief with my purse I started recording again.

3rd and Last Video @ Molotov's

In this video you can see the short Asian guy who was throwing gang signs at me inside, come up to me and start waving his hands around my face, possibly trying to further assault me. I say "Get the F*** away from me, W****." He makes some sound "Uuuuuu," waves his hands around in the air and walks away, after the woman whom I let try on the on the glasses inside comes in between us and says "Hey hey hey." You can hear the bouncer in the background say "I will be with you in one second, I just need to get everyone outside."

After all of this I called 911 from a friend's phone about 10 minutes later reporting the assault and robbery, called 2x more and waited for them for about 45 minutes. No one showed up. I called them back and let them know that I wasn't going to wait on Haight Street all night and that I was leaving. I went back to San Francisco the next day and filed a police report, case #140-157-387 Saturday afternoon.

The first local TV news station to report on the incident that I am aware of was Joe Vazquez of KPIX Channel 5 / +CBS on February 25th.

KPIX Channel 5 - Google Glass Attack

Here is a reenactment of the +Google Glass assault and robbery made by +TomoNews US which was published on February 26th.


The second local news station to report on the incident was +gabriel slate of KRON channel 4 / +CNN which says it aired February 25th, though I thought it first aired on February 26th. Gabe was the first person in the press that I spoke with and gave an interview to on February 24th.


Here is the +Inside Edition segment from the interview that I did with +Jim Moret on March 4th at the +Hyatt Regency San Francisco.  The segment first aired on March 6th.



Here is the national +CNN segment from the interview that I did with Dan Simon at the +Regus San Francisco on March 7th.

+CNN - High Tensions Over A High Tech Gadget

There have yet to be any arrests made in this case. I have turned over all media to the police - all pictures and videos - that I took at Molotov's that night. The Sgt. investigating the case has been away on leave for a week+ but is now back in the office. I am working with the +SFPD and will be pressing charges on the person who assaulted me and whomever was the thief that took my purse. The investigation is ongoing and hopefully soon there will be some justice and news to report.

Sarah Slocum
I Love Social Media, Inc.
PO Box 391
San Mateo, CA 94401

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