‘Hand on neck’ viral video leads to criminal charge
By Derrick Rose
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Prosecutors filed a criminal charge Thursday against a white man captured on camera with his hand around the neck of a Black man, who relatives said has developmental delays.
A video, which has now gone viral, of the incident shows Robert Walczykowski, 62, with his hands around the neck of Trevon Burks. Walczykowski is heard accusing Burks of stealing a neighbor’s bike days earlier.
In the video, Burks denied the theft.
Walczykowski is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Thursday.
“My son didn’t do anything wrong and, if I was to get justice, I would want him to pay for what he did,” Burks’s mother, Tracey, said during a news conference this week. “That was very wrong for him to do that and he could’ve come at my son a different way. He didn’t have to choke my son. It was a hatred thing, what he did.”
The video has drawn support for Burks from across the country.
Walczykowski is due in court Wednesday, Nov. 2 for an initial appearance, according to court records.
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