San Jose Karen Coughs on Baby for Not Social Distancing

If you want to stay alive while getting a frozen yogurt these days, do not upset Covid Karen, because she’ll pull down her mask, and cough on your baby, just to prove her point; namely that you are not ‘social distancing’ far enough from her.

The suspect, who was standing in front of a mother and her 1-year-old child in line at Yogurtland in San Jose, was upset that the mother was not “maintaining proper social distancing,” so she removed her face mask, got close to the baby’s face and coughed two to three times, San Jose police Sgt. Enrique Garcia told the press this week.

Woman allegedly coughed two to three times on a baby at a Yogurtland in San Jose on Friday, June 19, 2020.

Authorities began asking for the public’s help in identifying the woman who coughed on a stranger’s baby for being too close to her.  But I think we all know who it was.  It was clearly Karen.  And thanks to the help of the video and images circulated by police, the public identified her and  the police now know the suspect is an employee of the Oak Grove School District.

In a statement Wednesday, Superintendent Jose L. Manzo said the district was “aware of an incident allegedly involving one of our employees who was videotaped coughing on a baby.”

District Statement:
“The Oak Grove School District’s highest priority is the safety of our students. We do not tolerate conduct from any employee that compromises any child’s safety. We are aware of an incident allegedly involving one of our employees who was videotaped coughing on a baby at a local eatery. The employee is currently off of work and not providing any services to our District students. This matter is under investigation by the San Jose Police Department and we want to reassure you that the District is cooperating with the law enforcement authorities. Because this matter is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, we are not able to comment further on this matter.”

Jose L. Manzo, Superintendent

In summary:  Lady in her 60’s, Kate plus 8 haircut, and willing to cough on your baby in public to teach you a lesson.  This is an exceptionally ‘Karen’ moment.  For more information on how to identify a Karen in the wild, check our Karen guide here.

Is coughing on someone a crime?  The simplified answer to this question is: yes, coughing on someone to expose them to illness is assault. However, the situation might not be so cut-and-dry.  According to DC Law:

The act of coughing or spitting on another person in order to expose them (jokingly or not) to COVID-19 has already been the cause of multiple arrests around the U.S. In Pennsylvania, a man was arrested after coughing in the face of a recovering pneumonia patient while repeatedly claiming to be infected with the coronavirus. A Tennessee man was charged with assault and a New York woman was charged with making a terroristic threat after coughing and spitting on people in Walmart claiming they had COVID-19.

So yes, in the age of COVID, coughing is being taken a lot more seriously, Karen…also the suspect’s actual name is not Karen.

If you have an information about the incident involving the Baby coughing Karen you can contact Detective Dan Bowman at 408-277-4161, or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org.