Davenport Police Say They are Keeping Eyes on Problem Area

An incident in which a student’s jaw was broken at a Davenport city bus stop may have been the result of ongoing racial tensions between some juveniles, police said Wednesday.

Anthony Matthew Hall-Clark, 16, of 2214 Farnam St., has been charged in Scott County District Court with felony willful injury causing serious injury. He was out of custody Wednesday and his next court date is March 30.

Police said there has been an ongoing series of incidents at the bus stop in the 1700 block of Main Street, a block south of Locust Street, and the incidents have escalated in their level of violence.

According to a Davenport police report, school officials told police a group of black students has been trying to make it a “black-only” bus stop and has been picking on the “frailest” white students.

The police report said officers do not know whether the incident that occurred at 2:50 p.m. Friday stemmed from the ongoing problems, but it noted that Hall-Clark is black and the victim is white.

The police affidavit alleges that the suspect went up to the victim and punched him in the right side of the face for no apparent reason. The suspect then ran away, but he was identified by an adult school official who witnessed the incident, according to the report.

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