So.... cops robbed him and then saw an easy out by putting him on a bus and paying for it out of his money they they had robbed from him?
I don't think it's completely out of the question. There seems to be little doubt that it wasn't a cop that approached him and struck him over the head. That guy was prosecuted. I just find it interesting that notwithstanding the fact that the cops saw this and immediately took the guy into custody that my friend still lost his watch, cash and credit cards. The cops just said they didn't find those things on the defendant (probably because they were already in the cops' pockets).
As for the source of the funds for the ticket, it definitely came from the cops. Maybe they got it reimbursed from their department, but I like to tell my buddy that they bought him this ticket with the cash they took from him.