Black Wisconsin Teen Shot Dead by Police Sparks Protests
LatestA police officer in Madison, Wisconsin shot and killed African-American teen Tony Robinson on Friday. According to NBC News, Robinson is believed to have been unarmed.
From NBC News:
Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said at a press conference that an officer responded to reports of a man jumping in and out of traffic and that “the same subject had been responsible for a battery that had recently been committed.”
Koval said the officer followed the man to the residence where the battery took place, and said the man attacked the officer there. During the confrontation, the officer drew his weapon and shot the suspect.
“The initial finds at the scene did not reflect a gun or anything of that nature” on the suspect, Koval said.
After the officer attempted to revive Robinson, police say he was taken to a hospital where he later died.
The state’s Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation will lead an investigation into the shooting of the Madison teenager (in 2014, Wisconsin passed a law requiring independent investigations into police involved shootings). Last year 9 fatal shootings were investigated by outside agencies under the new law, but in every case the shootings were found to be justified.
The shooting of 19-year-old Robinson has prompted protests all over Madison, including a sit-in at city hall.
More than 100 people protested Friday night around the scene of the shooting, NBC News reported. Some shouted “Who can you trust? Not the police.” There was also a sit in at Madison City Hall, which is located near the state capitol building and the University of Wisconsin’s flagship Madison campus.
According to NBC News, the police have not released the name or race of the officer involved.