A Kentucky physician has been hit with a felony strangulation charge after an altercation with a group of teenagers that was caught on video.
Per regional outlet WDRB, Louisville physician John Rademaker was arrested and charged with first degree strangulation, as well as three counts of harassment with physical contact in connection with the altercation that occurred on Friday. His arraignment, per the report, is slated for May 8.
In footage of the incident, Rademaker is seen pushing three young women before later appearing to choke another. Per a video-including post on the incident shared to a Louisville subreddit over the weekend, Rademaker had approached the group of young people regarding a social distancing-related disagreement.
"The Louisville Metro Police Department has arrested John Rademaker in reference to an investigation stemming from a viral video at Norton Commons, Friday," police said in a statement shared to the department's Facebook page on Tuesday, later adding that the department "did not release the video or blur faces in this incident."
Acknowledging that the footage had gone viral, the department explained that the video had prompted "an ongoing investigation" about which they could not comment further. And while the department did not identify that Rademaker was a physician in the post, subsequent news reports made the connection.
PerNBC News, Rademaker—a contract physician with Baptist Health Louisville—has since been placed on administrative leave and will thus not be providing services at the facility.
