White man arrested for allegedly attacking Black teens with a belt
Matt Martel is charged with assault, battery, cruelty to children, and disorderly conduct
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A white man was arrested for allegedly attacking a Black teenager with a belt.
The incident, which took place outside a home in Carroll County, Georgia, was caught on video. It showed 15-year-old Maliyk Sim playing basketball with his cousins before a neighbour came outside.
The neighbour was later identified as Matt Martel, a 29-year-old white male.
“When you see the video, [Mr Martel] is running full speed at him and he’s caught off guard,” the teenager’s mom, Latika Sim, told WXIA-TV.
In the police report, Mr Martel said he was upset because the teenagers were using profanity.
In the video, Mr Martel appears to grab the teenager and shove him towards the garage of the home, which was out of view of the camera.
The teenager told the news station that the man then “grabbed me with his hands around my neck. He threw me up against a garage and I hit my head”.
Ms Sim said her child attempted to walk away from the man but he allegedly chased after the teenager with a belt.
“My son has played football, he has played every sport, he is fully capable of defending himself. But he knew he could not defend himself. So he walked away. He walked away and still this man is chasing him with a belt. So now I am in a full panic because my kids are unprotected,” she told the local news organisation.
Ms Sim ran out during the altercation and called the police.
Police arrested Mr Martel on charges of assault, battery, cruelty to children, and disorderly conduct.