Police seek information about man in viral video allegedly hiding in women’s restroom at Chase Palm Park
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Police are seeking information about a man captured in a viral TikTok video allegedly coming out of the women's restroom at Chase Palm Park after hiding in it.
The video was captured on the evening of June 16, 2024, and shows a white male wearing a black baseball hat.
"Officers were provided with a description of the subject that matched the description of the man that is depicted in the video on social media," said Santa Barbara City Police Department Spokesman Ethan Ragsdale.
Ragsdale said dispatchers were informed that there was a man hiding in the women’s restrooms.
After going back to hearing the dispatch audio about the incident, Ragsdale said there was no mention of the man peeping or looking over the stalls.
Jimena Gallardo, who goes under the TikTok username @owlfutura shot the now viral video. Gallardo said she and her family had stopped in Santa Barbara on their way back home in Los Angeles to use the restroom when they noticed a man in the women's restroom.
Gallardo added there were homeless in the area and believed they needed to use the restroom and, "got mistaken".
"So we stayed to see if he’ll leave soon, or warn anyone going to the women’s, that there is a man. We noticed it started getting weird because he was standing on top of the toilet every now and then and would look around," said Gallardo. "To me it looked like he was waiting for someone to go in. It was odd."
About 40 minutes later, Gallardo called the police, but they did not arrive right away.
Gallardo then saw what she described as a city worker, 20 minutes later, who appeared to begin closing the restrooms. She warned him about the man allegedly inside women's restroom.
"We told him and he kept telling the man in the bathroom to get out, and he wouldn’t. Then he threatened to call the police. Still nothing. Then the guy went in there and started knocking and using some sort of stick to bang a little on the stall. And he eventually came out," said Gallardo. "We stayed a little while after he left but no cop ever came."
Ragsdale said when officers arrived they searched the area, but, "were unable to locate the subject."
SBPD is asking anyone with information about this incident to contact the Dispatch Center at 805-882-8900.
