A Madison Metro rider was arrested for disorderly conduct Wednesday afternoon after grabbing other Metro customers’ arms and legs and preventing them from exiting the bus.
Suspect Antonio Martinez, 41, was on a Madison bus rounding Capitol Square at approximately 5:30 p.m., when he was accused of holding fellow passengers on the bus and hitting them with his camouflage hat, said Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain.
Martinez was not lucid at the time of the incident. DeSpain said Martinez was asked what time it was and what day it was, but Martinez did not know the answer. When Martinez was asked where he was, he turned around, spotted the capitol and said, “The Capitol, right?”
Mick Rusch, spokesperson for Madison Metro, said a passenger tried to grab Martinez at one point and remove him from the bus, but the attempt was not successful.
When the driver attempted to confront the suspect, DeSpain said Martinez threw his hat at the driver’s head.
“He was causing people to become so disturbed and frightened and causing them to get off the bus before their stop,” DeSpain added.
Additionally, Rusch said he assumes there were a lot of people on the bus at the time of the incident, specifically because it occurred in the evening.
If a disturbance on a Metro bus occurs, the bus driver is instructed to call the police, Rusch said, adding bus drivers are very responsive.
However, Rusch said Metro has never encountered a passenger hitting people with a hat before.
“We have a lot of people riding with us and we never know what people are bringing to the ride,” Rusch added. “It’s one of those things that just happens.”
The first protocol a bus driver must take while addressing a situation of this caliber is to get the bus to a safe location, Rusch said, adding the driver is then instructed to phone the police in the dispatch area. A supervisor is also sent to the scene.
Martinez was taken to the Dane County Jail and booked, according to DeSpain, adding Martinez started swearing and shouting, “This is shit,” upon arrest.
