Bodycam Puts the Track Stop on Tape
Police body camera footage shows Gabriel Hostin, son of “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, being detained on June 16 after officers found him jogging on MTA tracks in New Rochelle, New York. In the video, Gabriel says “the gate was open,” but police also released images of no trespassing signs they said were posted in the area. Officers handcuffed him during the stop and explained that being on the tracks is treated seriously because people can be struck by trains. That is the sort of public safety rule that tends to exist for a reason, even if it ruins a very credentialed morning jog.
Sunny Hostin Gets on the Phone
During the encounter, Gabriel called his mother and told her, “This cop is putting handcuffs on me.” He also told officers, “My mom’s a lawyer, by the way,” and asked for an officer’s name and badge number. Sunny Hostin could then be heard telling him, “Tell them your mother is a federal prosecutor,” before speaking with police herself. She told officers, “I’m a former federal prosecutor; that’s my son, he’s a Harvard graduate.” According to prior reporting from the New York Post, sources also said she identified herself as being on “The View.” The bureaucracy may be slow, but it does enjoy a full résumé.
Officers Say It Was a Citation, Not a Misdemeanor
Police told Hostin they were not charging her son with a misdemeanor and were instead issuing a citation because he had no record and had cooperated. One officer explained, “It’s not anything criminal. He just has to appear. I’m dumbing it down to a violation.” Hostin still questioned whether it was necessary, saying her son was a Harvard graduate, a Yale researcher, and someone who teaches geometry to fourth graders in the Bronx. She also asked why officers would put “something on his record like this.” The officer answered that he still had a job to do and that police needed to deter people from going onto train tracks.
The In-Person Plea Did Not Change the Call
The footage later shows Sunny Hostin arriving at the scene and continuing to ask officers to let her son off with a warning. She said he teaches in the South Bronx, repeated that she was a former federal prosecutor, and described the incident as an innocent mistake by someone who is never in trouble. An officer told her, “It’s not the end of the world.” That may be the least cable-news-ready sentence in the whole exchange, but it appears to be the basic point. Police treated the case as a violation tied to a safety rule, while Hostin argued her son’s background should weigh against a citation.
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