Bail was set at $5,000 for a Georgia man who allegedly yelled racial slurs and punched a woman early Saturday in Wrigleyville before doing the same to a police officer.
Robert Buschman, 34, of Atlanta, was charged with a felony count of battery to a police officer and a misdemeanor count of battery in the incident, which happened about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 3300 block of North Halsted Street, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
The 25-year-old woman was walking when Buschman approached her and yelled “F— you, immigrant b—-,” Assistant State’s Attorney Luis Muniz said in court Saturday afternoon at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Police officers standing nearby saw Buschman punch the woman in her head and face, Muniz said. The two did not know each other.
Buschman called an officer who intervened a “black b—- n—–” and punched the officer in the eye when the officer tried to separate him from the woman, Muniz said.
The officer suffered bruising and swelling, Chicago police said.
A court-appointed public defender told Judge Sophia Atcherson that Buschman had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after serving two tours in Iraq. The attorney also said Buschman was being treated for PTSD at an Atlanta veterans hospital.
Judge Sophia Atcherson wondered aloud whether Buschman would return to the county for his subsequent hearings if she allowed him to travel back to his Georgia home between court appearances.
“I can make every date,” Buschman replied. “I’ve served my country.”
Atcherson set Buschman’s bail at $5,000 and said she expected him to appear at his Feb. 8 court hearing in Skokie.
