Parents of a Florida High School runner who was knocked down with a heavy punch by an athlete during a race last month are now considering legal action.
The shocking incident took place on March 26, at the Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida. The crazy video which circulated on social media shows an athlete in black chasing down a runner in white and punching him in the back of the head to the horror of spectators. However, the race continued as other runners can be seen running past the victim lying on the ground in pain.
According to people who witnessed the violent incident, the assailant was not involved in the race but was reportedly standing on the track. The runner told him to move out of the track but he refused and intentionally tackled the runner during the next lap. The runner reportedly pushed him away. That was when the athlete chased the runner and knocked him down with a heavy punch to the head.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office initially claimed that neither the victim nor the assailant wanted to press charges in the incident. On the contrary, the victim’s family wants to press charges and explore civil remedies against all those responsible, according to the family’s lawyer, Nathan Carter, who said the young runner suffered a concussion and therefore may also file a lawsuit.
Carter also claimed that deputies had threatened to arrest his client if his parents pressed charges against the assailant. An OCSD deputy told the victim’s parents that if they pressed charges, their son would be arrested for battery because he first pushed the attacker.
“The family has read reports that the OCSD claims [my client] refused to press charges,” the attorney said in a statement. “This is false,” Carter said.
“The family of the victim did want to press charges for this vicious attack and assault caught on video and witnessed by hundreds of people. The OCSD deputy told the family that if [my client] pressed charges then he would also be arrested for battery. Only because of this threat did the family choose not to press charges.”
In addition, Carter also blamed the organizers of the event for failing to do their jobs. “The incident could have been prevented if the organizers of the track meet had done their jobs,” he said.
“They could have prevented the CC athlete from standing on the track during the first turn. Or they could have moved the CC athlete after the first lap incident. Or they could have moved the CC athlete before the second lap incident. Or they could have stopped the CC athlete before he chased [my client] down and sucker-punched him… They had many opportunities to prevent this and failed to do so,” the attorney said.