White Man Arrested and Accused of Beating Black Teen with Belt

“I was just panicked,” Latika said. “I was just, like, in 2021, I could not believe that a fully grown man would think that it was okay to come outside with a belt. When you see the video, he’s running full speed at my son, and my son is caught off guard.”

According to 11Alive, the police report stated that Martel claims he was upset the kids were using profanity. 

The video shows when Martel grabs onto Maliyk’s shirt, and the two disappear from view.

Maliyk claims that Martel slammed him against the garage, at which point he hit his head.

“And he grabbed me with his hands around my neck. He threw me up against a garage, and I hit my head,” said Malyik.

Latika, who happens to have worked in child care for 15-years, said she couldn’t understand what would make a person behave like this towards a child.

“I have never once thought, ‘You know what, let me take my belt off and beat somebody else’s kid,’” she said.

“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,” said Latika.

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She mentioned that if profanity was the issue, she wishes her neighbors would have called her or talked to another family member instead of resorting to violence. 

Matt Martel was arrested on charges of assault, battery, cruelty to children, and disorderly conduct.