Benjamin Ramirez
Benjamin Ramirez
Benjamin Ramirez is a Mexican street vendor residing in Los Angeles, California. [1]
Personal Life
Born and raised in Mexico, he has recently arrived in the United States to work with his father, Alex. His father has been a vendor in the neighborhood since the year 2000.
When Benjamin arrived in Los Angeles, California, he started working as a vendor. For his father, allowing his son access to his job and the line of work that he has been doing over the years, is a glimpse to the harsh realities the job brings.
Altercation with Carlos Hakas
Moment Carlos A. Hakas pushes his cart over
On July 24, 2017, as Carlos A. Hakas and his girlfriend, Holly Covella walked their dog during the afternoon, they came across Benjamin who was operating his food cart on the sidewalk. Carlos asked him to move the cart, which is legally positioned according to the permit, but he refused. [1]
Carlos and Benjam begin to argue in Spanish about the position of the cart, with Benjamin man saying: "Ahi esta el paso" ("You have a path").
Yet, Carlos refused to accept that as an answer so he told him, "Si no lo vas a mover el carro, lo voy a mover yo" ("If you're not going to move the cart, I'll do it for you.").
Benjamin moves out of the way and captures Carlos on camera knocking over the cart to the ground.
Holly then yells at Benjamin, "Stay the f*&* away." [1] Users on social media have doxxed Carlos and have been sharing the video on Facebook, which has gotten more than 400,000 thousand views. [1]
Former Altercations
According to Benjamin's father, Alex, who had an interview with a local reporter, says that Carlos has harassed his son in the past.
It's been a total of four times that he has berated Benjamin for having the cart in the street with the last encounter resulting in a clash where Carlos knocks over the cart.
The police are now looking for Carlos according to news reports.
They believe has had another similar encounter with another man from the same neighborhood that Benjamin works at.
Police Response
After the incident occurred, the police arrived to get a report and according to Benjamin's father, Carlos was able to talk his way out of getting arrested.
Due to his ability to speak English, he communicated better than Benjamin about the matters concerning the incident, and therefore the police officer allowed him to go.
A GoFundMe has been setup to cover the costs of fixing up the cart which has exceeded more than the goal of $1,000.
To make a donation on his GoFundMe, click on the citation and follow the link.
He also has another GoFundMe that was started by his mother.