Video shows cyclist tell dad to put his toddler ‘on a leash’ on Kent Trails

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — When two friends took a walk on the Kent Trails on Sunday with their children, they never expected it to lead to a police report and viral video.

The men, who asked that News 8 not share their names due to the attention the confrontation is receiving online, say a cyclist hit one of them in the face, cursed at them and told them to put one of their children on a leash.

One of the men is from Kent County and had his 3-year-old son and 4-month-old daughter with him. His friend, who was visiting from Detroit, had his 2-year-old. They were both pushing strollers, with the toddlers climbing in and out at various times.

The father of the 3-year-old said they were on their way back home after stopping at a park, and the kids had “reached their limit.”

“We had made sure to stop for other people who were on bikes. We have been pretty aware of that. We had to pull over to the side, grab our kids, hold their hands just to make sure they go by. We had actually just done that for a couple of other cyclists when this man approached us,” the friend who recorded the video said.

That man rode up as the 3-year-old sat down in the middle of the trail, according to the two friends.

“At that point, you know, my mind is like, OK, just stay put. Because, you know, if I run out in front of the cyclist, that’s a danger. If the kid runs out, that’s a danger, because where’s the cyclist going to go?” the 3-year-old’s father told News 8.

The friends say the cyclist began cursing at the 3-year-old, telling him to get out of the way.

“Me and my friend are just basically like, dude, come on, like, this is a 3-year-old. Like, sorry, but it’s going to happen,” the boy’s father said.

“(The cyclist) said some profanities directed at the (boy), which seemed very inappropriate. We turned, and I threw up my arm and was like, ‘What’s that all about?’ Then that’s when he turned around and came back,” the Detroit friend said.

According to the friends, the cyclist walked up to the father of the 3-year-old, who by then had picked up the boy and put out his arm to keep the cyclist at a distance.

“I’m holding my arm out to (gesture that he should) stay back from us. You know, he kind of knocks it out of the way and then that’s when he swings at me,” the boy’s father said. “Hits me right in the side of my head here, bounces my head into my son’s head.”

The child started crying.

“His son is now terrified and shaken up. He’s just seen his father assaulted by this random person who he’s never met before and he doesn’t know why it’s happening,” the friend from Detroit said.

That’s when the friend started recording video on his phone, he said, hoping to deter the cyclist from doing anything else.

“When I was taking the video, I was a little bit scared as if maybe he would turn on me and do something,” the friend explained. “I thought if he saw that I was recording, he would realize, ‘I don’t want to be on video doing anything that would get me in trouble.’ Hopefully he would just walk away.”

The video does show the man walking away after an exchange of words, which includes him saying “Why don’t you put him on a leash, like a dog?” referring to the 3-year-old boy.

See the video below, with faces blurred and profanity removed:

The boy’s father shared the video online in a now-deleted post.

“I posted just because one I was just flabbergasted at what happened. I wanted people in the area to know. And I was hoping to identify him (the cyclist),” the 3-year-old’s dad said.

A TikTok influencer shared the post with his millions of followers. It has since gone viral, amassing millions of views in the first two days. The attention overwhelmed the family involved, which is one reason the father of the boy says he took down all of his social media pages. The TikTok influencer didn’t ask permission to share the video.

Police have since tracked the cyclist down. Wyoming police said the investigation is still open, so they can’t share any details about the case, but it will be up to the prosecutor to decide on charges.

The 3-year-old’s father said the confrontation has stuck with his son.

“His biggest reaction is, ‘The big man hit me.’ And I’m doing my best to say, ‘That’s not what we do,'” the father said. “Whether this guy actually hit him directly or not, his hit to me forced my son to get hit.”

The state Department of Natural Resources has rules for everyone to follow on trails in Michigan, including that cyclists must yield to pedestrians. Kent County Parks and Recreation Director Ben Swayze told News 8 in a Friday email that while the county doesn’t have a specific right of way rule for trails, it does have an ordinance that says cyclists may not endanger others.

“We encourage everyone to be responsible and patient when using Kent County parks and trails, especially as they are busy this time of year. It is essential that everyone can enjoy the parks safely and respectfully, ensuring a positive experience for all,” Swayze wrote.

That’s the same sentiment shared by the friend from Detroit:

“Let’s just be decent to one another and just have common courtesy and understand it’s not always easy to keep your kids exactly where you want them,” he said. “There is nothing against anybody cycling; the trail is for everybody.”

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