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A CEO in Colorado is facing a felony assault charge after he was captured on video appearing to attack a 15-year-old boy and tossing him onto the floor of an In-N-Out Burger.
The teen reportedly accidentally spilled water on the man's wife while he was messing around with his friends, according to local police.
“The juvenile male approached her table to apologize when an adult male accompanying the woman suddenly grabbed him, placed both hands around the front and back of his neck, pulled him down to the table and threw him backward onto the floor,” Loveland police said in an arrest report.
The incident happened on August 4. The man and his wife left the restaurant before police arrived, but witnesses identified him, after which police issued a no-bond arrest warrant. Lucas Kalisher, 55, then turned himself in to police just after 10:30pm on August 13.
Kalisher has been charged with a felony, second-degree strangulation, and a misdemeanor count of child abuse, according to the New York Post.
He was arraigned on Wednesday.
Witnesses at the In-N-Out Burger were watching in shock. In the video capturing the attack, one witness can be heard objecting, noting that the older and larger man was "picking on a kid."
Kalisher is the CEO of Summit Source Funding, a private equity firm. Since the incident, he has removed his Facebook profile and his LinkedIn page.
The Loveland Police issued a statement of gratitude to the public following the incident, as witnesses provided critical details leading to Kalisher's identification.
“The Loveland Police Department is very appreciative of the assistance we received from the community during this investigation. This is a perfect illustration of our new Vision Statement: ONE Community, ONE Police Department, ONE Team,” Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran said in a statement.
