A Colorado CEO is facing charges after a viral video showed him assaulting a 15-year-old boy who had accidentally splashed water on his wife at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant.
The Loveland Police Department said Wednesday that 55-year-old Lucas N. Kalisher turned himself in to the Larimer County Jail late Tuesday on a no bond arrest warrant. He was charged with one felony count of assault in the second degree with strangulation and one misdemeanor count of child abuse.
According to police, officers were dispatched to the In-N-Out at 1450 Fall River Drive in Loveland at around 1 a.m. on Aug. 4. There, the 15-year-old boy told officers that he and two friends were "engaging in horseplay by splashing water on one another," and he accidentally splashed water on an adult woman.
When the boy approached her table to apologize, her husband, later identified as Kalisher, "suddenly grabbed him, placed both hands around the front and back of his neck, pulled him down to the table and threw him backward onto the floor," police said.
Although Kalisher and his wife left the restaurant before police arrived, the violent encounter was captured on video, which spread on social media.
Police said they talked to additional witnesses and reviewed "several" videos of the incident from different angles, and were able to confirm the suspect's identity. The Larimer County District Attorney's Office issued the warrant for Kalisher's arrest on Tuesday.
"The Loveland Police Department is very appreciative of the assistance we received from the community during this investigation. This is a perfect illustration of our new Vision Statement: ONE Community, ONE Police Department, ONE Team," Police Chief Tim Doran said in a statement.
According to a LinkedIn profile that has since been deleted, Kalisher is the CEO of the private equity firm Summit Source Funding.
NEW : A Colorado CEO is accused of pushing a fifteen-year-old child to the ground at an In-N-Out Burger after the boy drenched his wife with water as he was hurling it at his pals.
— 𝕏Jonathan (@JonathanXable) August 14, 2024
Due to an incident that occurred on August 4 at an In-N-Out Burger in Loveland, Colorado, Lucas… pic.twitter.com/C7aCvHYCV6
--with reporting by TMX
