The CEO of a private equity firm in the US has been arrested for allegedly strangling a 15-year-old boy who splashed a woman with water at an In-N-Out restaurant. According to The Independent, the incident took place on August 4. Lucas Kalisher, the 55-year-old CEO of Summit Source Funding LLC, was taken into custody by the Loveland Police Department (LPD) after he attacked the teenager and tossed him onto the floor of the restaurant. The boy had accidentally spilled water on the man’s wife while he was messing around with his friends, cops said. 

“The juvenile male approached her table to apologize when an adult male accompanying the woman 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,” Loveland police said in an arrest report, per The Independent. 

Witnesses at the In-N-Out Burger watched the incident in shock. In a video posted on Facebook, one witness can be heard objecting, noting that the older and larger man was “picking on a kid”. 

According to cops, the man and his wife left the restaurant before police arrived at the scene. However, witnesses identified the man, following which police issued a no-bond arrest warrant. The 55-year-old CEO then turned himself in to police on August 13. 

Mr Kalisher has now been charged with a felony, second-degree strangulation, and a misdemeanour count of child abuse, the outlet reported. He was arraigned on Wednesday.

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Notably, since the incident, Mr Kalisher has removed his Facebook profile and his LinkedIn page. In a statement, the LPD expressed gratitude to the public following the incident, as eyewitnesses provided critical details leading to the CEO’s identification. 

“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,” Chief Tim Doran said, per the LPD’s release.