Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
At the time this article was written, the district attorney’s office in Madison was preparing to release its findings into the shooting death of Tony Robinson.
And although the official findings were still unknown, Madison was already in the process of bracing itself for the possibility of violence that might ensue following a decision not to indict.
After a lengthy investigation by state authorities, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne is expected to announce Tuesday afternoon (May 12) whether Officer Matt Kenny of the Madison police Department will face charges over the shooting.
Wisconsin law requires the investigators to release their report the public.
Tony Robinson, 19, was fatally shot by Officer Kenny on March 6 in Madison, setting off days of protests in the city.
His death came amid lingering tensions over the killings by police elsewhere of other unarmed African-American that seized national attention.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Robinson’s friends and family members have said he took hallucinogenic mushrooms and was behaving erratically the day he was killed.
Few details have been made publicly available about the confrontation between two men.
However, the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a preliminary autopsy report that Robinson was shot in the head, torso and right arm.
Earlier this week, the superintendent for the Madison Metropolitan School District began disseminating information that protests had been planned and that middle high school students have been asked to participate.
The superintendent also disclosed that the district is planning to provide structured opportunities at middle and high school for students to discuss what happened once the announcement is made.
At the State Capitol, precautionary steps were also being taken.
The Capitol Police had assumed a heightened state of alert, and
lawmakers were prohibited from parking their vehicles on the Capitol Concourse.
Not surprisingly, Scott Walker has been conspicuously silent on the Tony Robinson shooting. After all, Walker is seldom in the state and is far too busy running for the White House.
It remains to be seen what the actual fallout will be once the Tony Robinson decision is rendered.
In the final analysis, one can only hope that Madison is not on the verge of becoming another Ferguson or Baltimore.