Troy McLeod walks his dogs every single day in his New York City neighborhood. Despite being wheelchair-bound, McLeod and his pups have maintained a comfortable routine. But everything changed one day when their regularly scheduled walk turned life-threatening.
An altercation between him and one of his Jewish neighbors, Levi Kabakov, 30, broke out when Kabakov accused McLeod’s dogs of scaring his children, according to News 12. McLeod says his dogs are trained. At the time of the incident, the dogs were off their leashes but wearing muzzles. McLeod insisted his dogs posed no threat, but that’s when the white man told McLeod to cross the street, and he did.
You’d think this would be the end to their small disagreement, but things escalated when Kabakov returned and began attacking McLeod. “I was scared, I was trying to get back up, I was in shock and thank God someone was there,” Mcleod told news 12.
Footage taken by a bystander shows the two arguing as Kabakov continues to blame McLeod for scaring his children. That’s when the white man physically attacked the wheelchair-bound man. Police say Kabakov hit McLeod with a wooden plank from his yard right before he pushed him out of his chair.
“It felt like a vengeful vibe to me because to the extent of the situation there was no need for it,” McLeod continued. Kabakov struck him twice, injuring his hands, which McLeod needs to maneuver his chair. “I had to block myself when he struck me twice, so I need my hands to get around, so the hills are tough for me right now,” he said.
After the March 29 incident, Kabakov was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and aggravated menacing, according to COL Live. He was released without bail and is expected to appear in court on July 17.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time McLeod has been confronted about his dogs. Another Jewish neighbor said McLeod’s dogs also frightened his children. “Despite my numerous, respectful requests for him to leash his dogs and be more considerate, Mr. McLeod has shown little regard for the safety and well-being of others,” the neighbor told COL Live. “It has frequently appeared that he seems to take pleasure in the discomfort his dogs cause,” they continued.
McLeod came out defending his pets saying, “My dogs are well trained, and even as he [Kabakov] was violating me you can see they did not involve themselves to hurt him.” A rally in McLeod’s honor is scheduled to take place in Brooklyn on April 17 at noon, according to COL Live.