Dateline: Janesville

Off-duty police thwart robbery attempt
By TED SULLIVAN Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009

JANESVILLE — In a case of terrible timing, a would-be robber entered Quotes Bar & Grill on Sunday night with the wrong people inside: off-duty cops.

Alonzo C. Rucker, 18, Beloit, is suspected of wearing a blue bandana around his face and reaching into his pants like he was grabbing a weapon when two Eau Claire police officers stiff-armed and tackled him.

About 20 off-duty officers from throughout the state were in Quotes for a pub crawl. They were in town for the Wisconsin Professional Police Association's golf outing at the Glen Erin Golf Club.

"Everyone was really getting a kick out of it, laughing a lot," bartender Joe Collins said. "What are the chances?"

Quotes video surveillance shows the would-be robber entering the bar behind four off-duty police officers.

When one officer saw him, the officer moved his beer bottle from his right hand to his left hand and shoved him into a table.

He then helped a second officer drag the man to the floor and pin him down.

The officer never spilled his beer.

"It was a take down," Quotes owner Denise Carpenter said. "These officers didn't hesitate. He was just down."

About four officers held the man down for a few minutes until Janesville police arrived.

Rucker was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, Janesville Deputy Police Chief Steve Kopp said. He didn't have a weapon.

Rucker was ordered held in the Rock County Jail on a probation hold after his arrest, Kopp said.

He told investigators he was looking for people involved in an earlier disturbance. He said he wore the bandana so he wouldn't be identified.

"It seems to be the joke of downtown today," Carpenter said. "I mean, what's the luck that you're going to walk into the bar with about 20 police officers?"

The Eau Claire officers planned on returning to Quotes the following day to get copies of the bar's surveillance video, Carpenter said.

They wanted the video for proof of the incident to show their buddies back home, she said.

"It's a little parting gift."