The three young men standing together in front of a busy bar on State Street at 1:30 a.m. are starting to irritate Madison police Sgt. Dave McCaw.
They’ve been drinking, though they aren’t falling-down drunk, and they aren’t doing anything criminal. As much as anything, it’s their tone – one of exaggerated politeness, with a hint of condescension – that seems about to set McCaw off.They just want to know , they say, over and over again, why their good friend had to be hustled into the back of that long police van parked nearby after they all left the bar a few moments earlier.