Madison police were forced to pause some services during the polar vortex, but as ice melted this weekend, violent crimes across the city had them out in full force.
Early Friday morning, the Madison Police Department was called to the East Side in response to an assault on a cab driver. When the suspect, an 18-year-old woman, said she had no money to pay her fare, the driver said she could go inside the house to get money if she left him with some form of collateral. She refused and the driver said he would drive her back to where he picked her up.
She responded by punching him in the back of the head several times, taking his tip money, pepper spraying him and threatening to stab him. He then called the police, who arrested the passenger for armed robbery, battery and disorderly conduct. While being arrested, she spit in a police officer’s face.
Saturday evening, Madison police responded to a residence on the Southwest Side following reports of a weapons offense. When officers arrived, they learned there was an armed man inside the house. Police called in the SWAT team, who set up a perimeter until they could get a search warrant. Six and a half hours later, they entered the house and arrested a 25-year-old man. Police have not yet said what he will be charged with.
