BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Mother’s day sales were cut short at a local church after an altercation broke out between vendors and church officials.
- On Saturday May 10, a mother and daughter set up their flower stand in front of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church on the corner of Baker and Pacific.
- Around 10 am, video footage shows individuals from the church approach the stand, telling them that if they didn't leave they would call the police.
- In the end, the family says they ultimately left in order to not cause more of an issue.
It was on the corner of Baker and Pacific where a mother and daughter were selling flowers for Mother's Day. However what they assumed would be a day of sales, turned into a morning of commotion.
A video of the incident was posted to Tik-Tok where it currently has over one million views.
In the video, a priest from St. Joseph can be seen and heard telling a mother and daughter selling flowers to leave, and threatening to call the police.
According to the church, they were selling on church property, however the family says they were positioned on the sidewalk. Yet, the video shows mother and daughter were stationed on the sidewalk, near the church and not on church property.
We reached out to BPD, and while they confirmed a call was made, no officers were sent to the scene.
"I wanted to cry, I wanted to say something but I couldn't. I couldn't say anything out of respect,” said Monica Orozco.
Monica Orozco had recently moved to Bakersfield three months ago. She tells me she doesn't sell often due to a recent knee surgery, but sells on big occasions like Mother's Day.
She tells me they were approached in a rude manner, and because of this, that's why her daughter tells me she started recording.
"I said, how are we catholic, here to help each other, to support each other, and I'm not taking anything away from their property we were just simply trying to sell,” said Monica Baltazar.
We reached out to the roman catholic diocese of Fresno, who gave us this statement in response,
"The Diocese of Fresno has investigated the incident that occurred at St. Joseph's Parish. For the health and safety of our community, the Diocese maintains a policy requiring all vendors to apply for and receive authorization through our Pastoral Center before operating on Diocesan property. The vendor shown in the video did not have such authorization. The Diocese of Fresno is committed to fostering a welcoming and safe environment for all. As part of this commitment, we will continue to provide our Clergy and staff with the tools and training needed to effectively and compassionately communicate our procedures and policy."
The family says after this, they ended up selling at another church after calling to ask. They say they were treated with kindness and hopes that st. Joseph can be kind with any future vendors.
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