ROCHESTER HILLS (WWJ) A Detroit man has been charged with kicking his 72-year-old boss in the head on camera—leaving him unconscious. The suspect claimed he did it believing his paycheck had been shorted.
Keith Demetrious Taylor, 32, was arraigned Thursday on one count to do great bodily harm less than murder.
The Oakland County Sheriff said Taylor, 6'3" tall, and his employer, 5'8", got into an argument outside a landscaping company in Rochester Hills where they were cutting the lawn on Tuesday.
WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW IS GRAPHIC, VIOLENT AND MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.
The suspect asked to be paid before he left the job site on Star Batt Drive, in the area of Crooks and Hamlin. His boss obliged. The sheriff's office said Taylor became agitated about the size of his paycheck and argued he had been underpaid. He began swearing at his employer. The confrontation escalated to physical violence with Taylor kicking him in the stomach, chest, and the head.
A security video shows Taylor kicked his boss several times in the head and face, knocking him unconscious "with a final kick." The victim, whose name has not been released, was covered in bruises and blood.
"Detectives said the employer was kicked at least three times while he was defenseless on the ground," an Oakland County Sheriff's Office press release read.
The employer's condition, and whether or not he was taken to the hospital, was not released.
Taylor has outstanding warrants in Detroit on separate charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and aggravated assault, and three traffic warrants from Highland Park.
He also has drug and endangerment and domestic violence convictions in Arizona and an assault conviction in Detroit.
"This brutal and unprovoked attack on a senior citizen shocks the consciousness," Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "This individual needs to be severely punished and held accountable for this cold-hearted attack as well as protect others from his unchecked violent tendencies."
Taylor is being held in the Oakland County Jail on a $10,000 cash surety bond.
