Trailer Park Manager Accused Of Ethnic Intimidation Of Black Teen

CUTLERVILLE, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - The manager of a mobile home park in western Michigan is accused of putting a 14-year-old boy in a choke-hold and using an anti-black slur against him.

The Grand Rapids Press reports 46-year-old Terry Ray Brooks Jr. has been charged with ethnic intimidation in connection with the June 8 incident at Green Meadow Village Mobile Park in Cutlerville. A judge said during a Monday hearing there's enough evidence to go to trial.

Skylar Toris testified that Brooks confronted him and a friend after they climbed a fence. Toris said he tried walking away when Brooks grabbed him from behind and brought him to the ground in a choke-hold that was growing increasingly tight the more he struggled.

Toris said as he was struggling with Brooks, the man repeatedly used the n-word and told him that he did not deserve to live or be in the park because he was a n----r.

"He said he'd been to prison before," Toris testified. "He said he was going to kill me."

Brooks, who was fired, said the confrontation started when Toris slapped his cellphone out of his hand when he threatened to call police.

He denies using any racial language and claims he acted in self-defense, while his attorney argues Brooks was simply doing his job.

Brooks is free on a $1,500 bond and three years in prison if convicted.

The hate crime charge is the first this year in Kent County.

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