Latonya B. James and Nanyamka N. James
A raucous crowd surrounded a Madison police officer on Wednesday night and punched him in the face.
Channel 3000 reported:
A Madison police officer was confronted by a crowd and punched after a street fight on Prairie Road Wednesday night, according to a release from Madison police.
The officer stopped in the area of Prairie Road and Jacobs Way around 6:20 p.m. after spotting a large number of people in the street. He said that as he approached he saw a woman punch a man in the face, and he could see that the woman had a can of pepper spray.
The officer said that as he went to arrest the woman he was surrounded by a crowd that was voicing anti-police sentiments, including “We need to start killing these officers.”
Police said the woman’s daughter was grabbing the officer while trying to free her mother. The officer said he tried to diffuse the situation by explaining to the crowd that the woman had just punched someone and was armed with pepper spray. Police said his words were ignored, and the struggle with the two people continued.
The older woman punched the officer in the face and grabbed him by the throat, according to the release.
The officer said he could see many in the crowd were recording the incident on their cellphones while some accused him of misconduct and using excessive force.