A white man was filmed holding a Black man with special needs by the neck after assuming he had stolen a bike.
Shocking video recorded by Milwaukee resident Deangelo Wright captured the incident around 4.40pm on 10 October. According to Mr Wright, he had been driving when he came across the disturbing scene and decided to intervene.
“I was driving by and the young man was right in the middle of the street. They were kind of blocking traffic,” Mr Wright told The Independent on Tuesday. “He was standing in the middle of the street with his hand over the kid and choking the young boy.”
Mr Wright said that the incident took place at the intersection of 25th Street and Grant Avenue. After several calls for the man to let go of the other man’s neck, he finished recording and reported the altercation to the police.
The video, first shared on the @ChudsofTikTok Twitter page, has sparked outrage online and garnered nearly 40,000 likes. In the footage, the elderly man, who has not been officially named by police, can be heard saying, “This kid over here, one of his friends stole a bike right out of a friend of mine’s yard.”
The elderly man did not explain why he was so certain that the younger man was the one behind the alleged crime. Instead, he continued to hold the young man by the neck and impeded him to leave, even as children approached.
Mr Wright repeatedly asked the young man what happened as he reiterated that he hadn’t touched the man holding him by the neck. Mr Wright told the Independent that the family of the man had reached out and told him that he had special needs.
“I am a father myself and I know if that was my kid in that situation, there probably wouldn’t be a video. It just didn’t look right,” Mr Wright said.
“Once I stopped recording I called the police and made the report.
Mr Wright said that protests had taken place outside of the home where the alleged attacker lives.
Authorities told local news station WISN that they’re “aware of a video that has been circulating on social media sites,” and that “the individuals involved in the video have been identified.”
The men are aged 62 and 24, police said. The Independent has reached out for comment.
