Madison Police arrested two white males for assaulting a black man who was sitting at a downtown bus station Tuesday night, according to an incident report.
Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said in the release one of the suspects proclaimed, “we did white boy work tonight,” while being booked in jail on disorderly conduct and trespassing charges.
Upon hearing a 22-year-old man conversing over the phone in his “native African language” while waiting for a bus at the intersection of State and Fairchild Streets at approximately 11:20 p.m., Chad Grubbs, 28, and Rodney Michaelis, 42, told him to “stop talking that way,” according to the release.
A police officer on routine patrol recognized and followed the suspects using the victim’s descriptions of them, which he offered the 911 dispatcher after fleeing his attackers, according to the release.
According to DeSpain, the victim was “shaken up,” but uninjured, and the victim claimed the fight was unprovoked.
The arrested individuals, however, claim the black man instigated the violence by making derogatory remarks about white people, according to the release.
