OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — Days after becoming the focus of a video that went viral online, dozens of people held a rally in Oceanside Thursday in support of the ice cream vendor involved.
The rally was a result of the Oct. 22 confrontation and was meant to show community support for all street vendors in Oceanside.
The organizers said they want vendors to be treated with respect and called for more easily accessible and affordable resources to get permits to sell their items. Several vendors shared their stories and the challenges they faced while selling.
"People are advocating to make sure there are avenues to receive permits via the city," said Stephanie Ortiz, who showed up to support.
RELATED: Incident between volunteer and street vendor at Oceanside Día de los Muertos event goes viral
The video shot by a teenager at the Oct. 22 event shows a confrontation between ice cream vendor Jose Felix and a volunteer of the Friends of Oceanside Día de los Muertos event. The video does not show what led up to the interaction.
Felix admitted he didn’t have a permit, but said he was told by attendees he could sell, until the woman told him he had to leave. In the video, she was seen grabbing his cart.
"We’re not talking about the permits or nothing, we’re just talking about the treating that they do to me, the way she talks to me, the way she pushed my cart," said Felix.
The woman, later identified as Cathy, apologized online for the incident in a statement.
The celebration was not a city event, but officials told ABC 10News that they only charge a business license application fee of $54 and that food safety permits are regulated by the county. They did extend an apology to those affected by the incident.
Cathy has since been suspended without pay pending an investigation by her employer, Mainstreet Oceanside, but they are not the organizers of Sunday’s celebration.
Felix said he hopes to get permitted by the city of Oceanside to avoid this happening again.
