A video that is going viral on Facebook shows a man threatening two teens for skateboarding on a public street, which is not illegal in that area of Manchester, Vermont.
“Don’t you fucking open your mouth to me because I’ll take that fucking board and shove it up your ass, you little smart ass piece of shit,” yells the man, who has been identified as Larry Fogarazzo, who appears to be 63.
“I mean no disrespect to you, sir,” says one of the teens as they walk away from the man.
According to the teens, Forgrazzo was upset that they were skateboarding on the road outside his driveway, so he told them not to skate there anymore.
However, when the teens informed the man that they were legally allowed to skate there, Forgrazzo blew his top.
“He threatened to pull his truck in the road so it will smash us like pancakes,” said Nathaniel Garrison in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Tuesday.
“He got real close to me, I had to put the board in between us.”
That was when his friend, Jaidon Lalor, began recording.
“Don’t want you skateboarding around here,” Forgrazzo said. “I don’t care what the fucking law is.”
The incident took place Monday right before sunset after the two 17-year-old students skated down Powderhorn Road in preparation for an upcoming skateboarding tournament in Massachusetts called the Central Mass Skate Festival.
“It’s probably the steepest road in the area,” Lalor said.
Lalor, who has done extensive research on the law regarding skateboarding in the area, compiling the information on this Google Document, said about 20 people live on that road – yet Forgrazzo is the only one who seems to have an issue with it.
Local law forbids skateboarding in the town’s business district, a law that Lalor finds reasonable because the town depends on tourist dollars to boost its economy.
Lalor said he tried to be cooperative and courteous with Forgrazzo but he was not about to give up his right to skateboard down the road.
He even provided his address to Forgrazzo, who ended up calling the cops. Later that night, Manchester police paid his family a visit along with the grouchy old man.
“I just wanted to be truthful,” said Lalor. “I didn’t want to disrespect the guy.”
Manchester police acknowledged that no laws were broken, but they also advised the teens not to skate there anymore to keep Forgrazzo from becoming angry.
Police also posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying there is a “lot of misinformation” going around about the video – but they don’t bother clarifying whatever misinformation that may be.
He also said his parents are very supportive of his skateboarding as well as his extracurricular activity where he tries to get involved in the community.
And considering Vermont is considered the heroin capital of the nation, there are much bigger issues in that area than a pair of teens skating down a steep road.
“I really hope something positive comes out of all this,” said Lalor. “It would be really nice if this leads to our skate park being refurbished. It has become very rundown.”
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