Police Respond to Video of Man Gripping Special Needs Black Man By The Throat [Update]
Updated as of 10/20/2022 at 11:30 a.m. ET
The Milwaukee Police Department say they are investigating the viral video of a young Black man being grabbed by the throat by a white man accusing him of stealing a bike, according to VICE. So far, authorities have not specified any arrests have been made in the incident nor have they named the white man as a suspect.
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A MPD spokesperson told VICE police have identified both men but would not release their names to the public. The Randy Report identified the white man as Robert Walczykowski, 62. Police say the young Black man is 24 years old.
“No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing and will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for review of any potential charges,” they said. *eye roll* What a development.
In the video, the young Black man is on a bike and Mr. Walczykowski is blocking him from moving. Walczykowski holds a phone to his ear, appearing to call 911 and is heard telling the operator that the young man stole the bike out of his friend’s yard. Despite the man’s desperate cries that he didn’t steal anything, Walczykowski grabbed him from behind by his neck. The person recording removes Walczykowski’s hand from the man’s neck to which Walczykowski gives him the finger.
“You ain’t gotta touch his neck like that. He’s a kid,” the recorder says off camera. He then orders the other kids riding their bikes in the streets to notify the young man’s guardians of what’s going on.
Read more on the incident from WISN 12 News:
Deangelo Wright told WISN 12 News reporter, Kendall Keys, that he was driving when he saw the encounter in the middle of the street. He exited his car to film.
“Just looking at it, it just looked like he was choking a kid. It was sad and very upsetting,” Wright said. Wright said he felt compelled to intervene.
“He was shaking. He didn’t really know what was going on, like he was confused. I was telling everyone, God puts you in the situation for a reason, and I think that was for that young man’s sake,” Wright said.
Look at what racism has made white people do: storm the Capitol, shoot up a supermarket and senselessly assault Black people. Now in Milwaukee, we’ve found another example. Locals seemed to have responded to the incident faster than the police.
Local activist Vaun Mayes organized a protest outside Walczykowski’s home, chanting with help of two large speakers sitting on the back of a pickup truck, per WISN. Mayes called Walczykowski a “vigilante” wannabe like Ahmaud Arbery’s killers who falsely accused Arbery of a crime and took it upon themselves to prosecute and persecute him.
The Root requested more information on the matter from the Milwaukee Police Department.
Twitter reacted in complete outrage not only to the video but the slow action from the police department. Two users cited Wisconsin’s criminal code for assault of an individual with a disability and false imprisonment as suggestions for what charges Walczykowski should face.
They forgot to mention federal level hate crime.
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