A viral video showed a crying boy begging his father not to call the police on a black man at a San Francisco apartment building.

A viral video posted on Facebook shows a young boy tearfully begging his father not to call police on a black visitor at a San Francisco apartment building.

The video, shot by 35-year-old software engineer Wesly Michel on July 4, starts mid-confrontation as the man demands that Michel call his friend using the apartment call box and have the friend come down to prove that he's at the building to see a resident.

"They don't have to do that. You can just walk away," Michel says, as the father pulls out his phone to dial 911. His son can be heard urging him not to call police.

"You're going to be the next person on TV," Michel warns.

"Daddy, don't. Don't," the boy pleads. As his father speaks to the 911 operator, the boy yanks on his arm and says, "Let's just go. Dad, don't. Please go."

"Listen to your son," Michel says.

"I agree with him, Daddy," the boy says, as his father shushes him. "Please go. I don't like this, I don't like this," he says tearfully.

 

Michel says the video 'mirrors the experience that African Americans endure daily'

The video is reminiscent of other recent confrontations where white people have called the police on black people for seemingly innocuous behavior, such as walking through a bodega, waiting at a Starbucks, sleeping in a dormitory, selling water, attending a barbecue, or waiting in the lobby of a hotel.

In one strikingly similar video from last October, a white woman was seen on video trying to block a black tenant from entering his own apartment building in St. Louis, Missouri. After the video went viral, the woman was fired from her job.

The videos of such incidents have often sparked widespread outrage and led to accusations of racial bias. Some of them have led to derisive nicknames for the 911 callers, such as "Permit Patty" or "BBQ Becky."
 

Facebook/Wesly Michel

Michel told CNN on Tuesday the incident "mirrors the experience that African Americans endure daily where we are questioned on whether we belong."

He continued: "I videotaped this incident to protect myself and to support my story should police get involved."

Michel's video ended when Michel's friend, a resident of the apartment building who he said was disabled, appears to walk down the sidewalk and approach the group.

"Told you!" the boy says. "Let's go now. Daddy, look what you've gotten us into. Let's go."

The father, still on the phone, explains to the operator that Michel was at the building accompanied by a resident, and asks Michel to stop recording.

"Now you're online forever," Michel says.