More details have come to light regarding an attack that left a Manitowoc County man in a coma.
Joshua Buchholz, a co-owner of Dawn and Josh’s Badger’s Den, located at 401 Fremont Street in Kiel, has confirmed with SeehaferNews.com that Cody Rautmann was attacked by Chad Suttner outside of the establishment at around 10:45 last Friday night.
But, Buchholz notes, it was not a typical bar fight.
“So this guy is screaming at his girlfriend, headbutted his girlfriend, Cody heard, and he said, ‘I’m going to go outside and protect her,'” he explained. “Cody came outside and protected her and got assaulted by the dude. He came outside to protect a female, and that was Cody. He’s not going to just let a guy beat a woman in front of him.”
Chad L Suttner
Cody actually worked at the Badger’s Den for a while, and during that time, he left a lasting impression on not only the regulars but also on Josh.
“Cody is a teddy bear of a guy. I mean, he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever meet,” he explained. “It was very, very rare to see Cody upset. And if he was upset, you didn’t even know about it because he’d crack a joke. You know, he was the jokester. He always had something good to say.”
Josh noted that all of the employees of the Badger’s Den become Dawn’s children after they have worked there for a while, so when the assault happened, both Josh and Dawn were devastated.
They have decided to help support the family as much as possible.
Not only are they raising money for Cody and his family through a donation jar, but Josh tells us, “We’ll be at all the hearings. Even if it’s a motion hearing. I’m going. Every one of them. So that guy has to see my face every time.”
The Kiel community has been showing its support for the Rautmann family as well.
Not only have the donations come pouring in, but the support has also come in symbolic ways.
“We actually have a sign outside of the Badger’s Den right now that says ‘Honk for Cody,’ and about every fourth car honks.”
Cody suffered a skull fracture in the attack and is currently in a medically induced coma in a Green Bay hospital.
His father stated during Suttner’s bail hearing that the family had been told by doctors to “wait and pray.”
Suttner is due for his initial appearance on June 1st in Manitowoc County court.
