Maryland-National Capital Park police ask the public for help in identifying a suspect in connection with an assault that took place on Monday afternoon on the Capital Crescent Trail in Montgomery County, Park Police released.
A man and two women were walking down the path, publishing flyers in support of Black Lives Matter, when the suspect started arguing with them about the flyers and grabbed the flyers from one of the victims, the statement said.
Police say the suspect then pushed his bicycle and started loading one of the victims, causing them to drop to the ground.
The park police released pictures of the suspect, asking for help in finding the man, who is described as a 50-60 year old white male, medium build, 6 feet tall, with short brown hair.
Park police officers are patrolling the footpath, bicycle and police car.
The man who shot the cyclist’s video in front of him and his friends as he posted the signs told CNN that they were trying to influence the change.
The man asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation and says he was out with two other friends who posted flyers when approached by the cyclist. The man claims that the cyclist overtook them, then turned and walked over to them.
“At first he seemed intrigued by our message, but quickly became aggressive and tore the sheets from my hands,” he said. It was then that he pulled out the phone and started recording.
CNN cannot independently verify what happened before and after the video.
What the video shows
The video shows that the cyclist approaches another member of the group, who tells him to stay away. The cyclist then turns to the third member of the group and tears off a roll of duct tape around his wrist.
The man behind the camera says it was when the cyclist noticed that he was filming and grabbed the bike and loaded it.
In the video, then he falls to the ground. He says the cyclist requested the tape he was holding. Registration ends when the man picks up the phone. He says that the cyclist then walked the path a bit before going back and screaming obscenity at the group before going back.
Since the accident, the man who shot the video says he has gone back to placing more signs and has had people asking for signs to post.
“I spent high school years in Washington and I’m lucky enough to live in a wealthy neighborhood where I feel I have many privileges,” he said.
“There are a lot of people who watch TV and say” wow it’s horrible “and they shake their heads, but they don’t really work to change it. This is what I want to try and inspire is that people change things instead of simply being an observer. “
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