Police need help identifying four bus attack suspects

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police are looking for the community's help in identifying suspects involved in the attack of a Milwaukee County Transit System bus driver back in March.

Police say on Sunday, March 18th just before 6:30 p.m., four suspects were on a bus near 35th and Silver Spring, acting disorderly, swearing and ringing the buzzer as though they wanted to get off the bus, but not actually departing.

Police say one of the four suspects attempted to grab the pad of bus transfers near the driver, but the driver blocked the suspect with his hand, and told him to get off the bus. That's when police say one of the four suspects punched the bus driver in the face with a closed fist.

That suspect then got off the bus and met the other three on the curb, who were laughing. All fled the scene heading eastbound.

Police say one suspect was identified, but could not be prosecuted due to lack of evidence. They're looking to the community to help identify all four of the suspects, as they believe other passengers on the bus may have witnessed the attack.

Milwaukee County Transit System spokeswoman Jackie Janz says this type of behavior on County buses will not be tolerated. "The driver is doing fine. We're very thankful for that. MCTS has no tolerance for this type of behavior. Rowdy kids, or anyone, needs to understand that we have a good security system. There's four cameras on every bus. You're going to get caught because we have the video, and you're gonna be prosecuted to the fullest," Janz said.

Eddie Groves says he rides the bus every day, and says he will contact authorities if he sees a situation become violent. "You get on the bus to relax and you've got people acting a fool. It's crazy. You ride the bus to go from one place to another, not to be attacked by other people. It's frustrating to see people act like this," Groves said.

Janz says the crime is punishable by up to $10,000 in fines or up to two years in prison, or both.

Anyone with information into this incident is asked to contact Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7243.