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Black Teen Tony Robinson Shot Dead by Cop in Madison, Wisconsin

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Malyse

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A 19-year-old black man was shot dead Friday during a confrontation with a police officer in Madison, Wisconsin, according to police.

A family spokesman said the deceased was Tony Terrell Robinson, Jr., a graduate of Sun Prairie High School. He was believed to have been unarmed.

The shooting took place Friday at about 6:30 p.m., Madison police said, and sparked protests, including a sit-in at Madison City Hall. Police have not released the race or any other details about the officer involved.

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.

The officer performed CPR on the suspect, who was taken to a hospital but later died. Koval said the state Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation will lead a probe into the shooting.

More than 100 protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting, according to witnesses and reports, with video showing the crowd chanting: "Who can you trust? Not the police."

Robinson's family said police have not allowed them to see his body.

"They won't let us come near him," Sharon Irwin, Robinson's grandmother, told the crowd that had gathered Friday night after the altercation. "I just want to hold him and tell him it's OK. Go home to God. They told me he was evidence."

Family spokesman Michael Johnson said on Facebook that Robinson was a "loving and caring young man" who was about to attend Milwaukee Area Technical College to pursue a business degree. The family met with the mayor and police chief last night, Johnson told NBC News.

"It's a challenging time for this family right now. To lose a son, especially the way they lost a son," he said.

Koval appealed to the public to stay calm while the investigation got underway.

"In light of so much things that have happened not just across this country, but in our own community, it was understandable that the reaction seemed from some of our citizens extremely volatile, emotional, and upsetting," he said. "We understand that. It is absolutely appropriate under the circumstances."
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http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...s-suspect-during-confrontation-police-n319136
 
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What were they referring to with that "in our own community" line? Has there been a lot of racial tension between police and the community in Wisconsin?

I wonder why he was going in and out of traffic. That seems like pretty odd behavior.
 
Another excuse to riot, I guess.

Retrospectively apologising for what is one of the most ridiculous things I could've posted. I won't edit it out, but I don't agree with what I said. I was just an idiot looking for a bit of attention, and for that I'm sorry.
 
/\ Might want to edit that, breh.
 
Tenebrous said:
Another excuse to riot, I guess.
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African Americans don't need another excuse to riot. They should really be doing it already. This sort of stuff is commonplace, and our justice system has failed them completely. Just look at what the DOJ found about Ferguson.
 
Novocaine said:
A loving caring young man that commits battery. How strange.
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I've learned in my experience to never trust the words of family concerning how a person acts. Too emotional considering + who wants to say anything bad about a dead person. I feel for the family involved, hope to see some evidence soon before any judgement is made.
 
esms said:
I don't see this ending well for you.
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Maybe I'm not in tune with what's happening over in the USA, but here in the UK a few years back, a black lad was shot... The result? Several days of rioting. Kids "releasing their frustrations at the system."

Bollocks.

It's nothing but opportunism & vandalism. Protests I can truly get on board with, if the situation is right... But casual destruction of property? Bugger that. There's better ways to convince people that change is needed than to go around hurting innocent family businesses.

Again, sticking my nose into matters I don't understand. I'm sorry for any I offended. It was a bad post.
 
Tenebrous said:
Maybe I'm not in tune with what's happening over in the USA, but here in the UK a few years back, a black lad was shot... The result? Several days of rioting. Kids "releasing their frustrations at the system."

Bollocks.

It's nothing but opportunism & vandalism. Protests I can truly get on board with, if the situation is right... But casual destruction of property? Bugger that. There's better ways to convince people that change is needed than to go around hurting innocent family businesses.
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I'm pretty sure your example is not analogous to this one.

Edit: That was quick...
 
Tenebrous said:
Maybe I'm not in tune with what's happening over in the USA, but here in the UK a few years back, a black lad was shot... The result? Several days of rioting. Kids "releasing their frustrations at the system."

Bollocks.

It's nothing but opportunism & vandalism. Protests I can truly get on board with, if the situation is right... But casual destruction of property? Bugger that. There's better ways to convince people that change is needed than to go around hurting innocent family businesses.
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Tenebrous
Banned
Today, 01:57 PM, Post #16

Onaco said:
http://heavy.com/news/2015/03/tony-...op-shooting-victim-dead-black-teen-wisconsin/

Not sure how credible this source is, but it does give more information.
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Heavy tends to be pretty solid IMO.
 
To stay a bit neutral, I'd like to know what the assault was on the officer. If the officer had reason to think he was in danger, he has the right to defend himself. But choosing his gun over a taser is the issue yet again.
 
Volimar said:
Well now that we've covered both extremes, I'm sure the thread will now have a reasoned, logical debate without people jumping to conclusions.
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What is there to debate? I don't see a debate in is it OK to kill an unarmed man because you got knocked down.

Maybe we can debate what ever happened to taser guns?
 
I'd like to know what a "disturbance" sounds like. From what I've read it says the officer broke into the house because he heard a "disturbance." Sounds pretty flimsy...
 
This is exactly the shit people are talking about. It's perfectly fine to wait for details on something before judging, but way, way too many people default to "Black guy deserved it", "Black guy had it coming". Every.Single. Time. The mentality of some people is frightening. For all the hype about mistreating women(white), it's disturbing that such public steps aren't being taken for minorities. "Don't judge women on what they wear". Yet people and police are given a free mental pass to judge the shit out black men, no matter what they're wearing, no matter the situation. Come on. And people say white privilege isn't a thing?
 
Tenebrous said:
Maybe I'm not in tune with what's happening over in the USA, but here in the UK a few years back, a black lad was shot... The result? Several days of rioting. Kids "releasing their frustrations at the system."

Bollocks.

It's nothing but opportunism & vandalism. Protests I can truly get on board with, if the situation is right... But casual destruction of property? Bugger that. There's better ways to convince people that change is needed than to go around hurting innocent family businesses.
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There's really only one acceptable reaction on GAF to news like this, and yours isn't it
 
Shouldn't a cop be trained to take down an unarmed person without shooting them? Maybe they'll show another eight hour powerpoint presentation.
 
CrushDance said:
This is exactly the shit people are talking about. It's perfectly fine to wait for details on something before judging, but way, way too many people default to "Black guy deserved it", "Black guy had it coming". Every.Single. Time. The mentality of some people is frightening. For all the hype about mistreating women(white), it's disturbing that such public steps aren't being taken for minorities. "Don't judge women on what they wear". Yet people and police are given a free mental pass to judge the shit out black men, no matter what they're wearing, no matter the situation. Come on. And people say white privilege isn't a thing?
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We shouldn't assume that institutional racism exists or is a bad thing until all the facts are in.
 
Onaco said:
To stay a bit neutral, I'd like to know what the assault was on the officer. If the officer had reason to think he was in danger, he has the right to defend himself. But choosing his gun over a taser is the issue yet again.
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Can't talk for the officer in the heat of the moment, but if the were no other weapons in play, he really should have went for the taser.

Also, what does going in and out of traffic mean? Jaywalking?
 
CrushDance said:
This is exactly the shit people are talking about. It's perfectly fine to wait for details on something before judging, but way, way too many people default to "Black guy deserved it", "Black guy had it coming". Every.Single. Time. The mentality of some people is frightening. For all the hype about mistreating women(white), it's disturbing that such public steps aren't being taken for minorities. "Don't judge women on what they wear". Yet people and police are given a free mental pass to judge the shit out black men, no matter what they're wearing, no matter the situation. Come on. And people say white privilege isn't a thing?
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If I had to guess, those people you speak of see this:

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."
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And give the cop massive leeway, without questioning the veracity and the source of the information.
 
When deciding how outraged to be, am I allowed to consider that he had allegedly just committed battery and attacked the officer that was trying to arrest him for it?
 
I hope this is on tape because after the shady reporting of what happened in cleveland and dayton then actually seeing the video...I am so skeptical of news summaries of these things. Maybe the guy did get super violent but it was also reported that the guy in Wal Mart was waving his gun at people and didnt respond to many police commands to put down teh bb gun. The kid in Clevland and the toy gun was just ...heart wrenching , and the way that was reported...just wow , they made it seem like he was disrupting a community event...he was by himself.


RIP and my condolences to the family.
 
Slo said:
When deciding how outraged to be, am I allowed to consider that he had allegedly just committed battery and attacked the officer that was trying to arrest him for it?
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As long as you also consider that only one of them had a deadly weapon on them.
 
BrokenEchelon said:
There's really only one acceptable reaction on GAF to news like this, and yours isn't it
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Wait for evidence so that people can blame the right person?
Because if anyone remembers that cop + guy with snow shovel incident, well lets say lots of crow pie was eaten that day. Its also how i judge these cases, evidence helps out alot. (plus like i said in an above post, I never take family words at all.)
 
Sounds like odd behavior from the teen leading up to the incident. There could be a strong possibility the toxicology report shows drugs in his system.

I'm sure he was a great kid, but the presence of certain drugs can certainly make someone act completely different tHan their normal selves.

Just have to wait and see once everything gets released. Either way, RIP.
 
WhatRobEats said:
As long as you also consider that he did not have a deadly weapon on him.
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Fair enough. So the expectation is that the officer should be able to out brawl the guy in a fist fight? Police Kung Fu must always be superior to the Kung Fu of the general public?
 
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