Deaths Tony Robinson | Name Shooting Tony | |
 | ||
Date March 6, 2015 (2015-03-06) Location Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. Participants Matt Kenny (police officer)
Tony Robinson (deceased) | ||
The shooting of Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. occurred on March 6, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin. Robinson, an unarmed 19-year-old man, was fatally shot by 45-year-old Matthew Kenny, a Wisconsin police officer, during an altercation that occurred while Kenny was responding to reports that Robinson was jumping in front of cars and had attempted to strangle someone. On May 12, 2015, the shooting was determined to be justified self-defense by the Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. The death was protested by the Black Lives Matter movement; Robinson was African American.
Contents
Event
On March 6, 2015, the police received reports that 19-year-old Tony Robinson was yelling and jumping in front of cars. Robinson had reportedly been running in and out of the street while shouting at bystanders. Some of the reports were from friends of the suspect, who were concerned by his erratic behavior and called for help.
Officer Matt Kenny responded to the calls at 6:30 pm. Upon arrival, Officer Kenny said he heard a loud yelling and banging from an upstairs apartment. Kenny also claimed that immediately upon reaching the top of a flight of stairs, Robinson attacked Kenny without warning, knocking his head into the wall. Kenny claimed that Robinson continued to swing at him. Kenny then fired his weapon seven times, mortally wounding Robinson. Kenny claimed that he performed CPR on Robinson, and Robinson was taken to a hospital but later died. Robinson was unarmed. Kenny suffered a concussion and a sprained knee from the assault.
Robinson was determined post-mortem to have ingested Xanax, psilocybin mushrooms, and THC hours before the shooting. The drugs may have contributed to his erratic behavior.
Background
Court documents show that Robinson was on probation after pleading guilty to armed robbery in 2014. This stemmed from a home-invasion robbery in which Robinson was caught by police fleeing the scene, armed with a fake, but realistic-looking gun. The Daily Mail reported that in September, a family friend had written to Robinson's defense attorney warning that he faced a choice between a middle-class life and "the 'gangsta' path", and that a felony conviction and prison sentence would push him further into the world of gangs.
In 2007, Officer Matt Kenny had shot and killed Ronald Brandon, who was standing on the porch of his own home, holding an unloaded pellet gun.
Aftermath
The Black Lives Matter movement has protested Robinson's death. Some 1,500 protesters, mostly high school students who had staged a walk-out, filled the state capitol on March 9 to protest Robinson's death, yelling the "Hands up, don't shoot" chant through the capital building.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice investigated the Robinson shooting, as required by Wisconsin law. Robinson's uncle said that the family had faith that the Division of Criminal Investigation will "handle [the investigation] with integrity".
On May 12, 2015, Dane County District Attorney, Ismael Ozanne, announced that Officer Matt Kenny would not face charges for the shooting of Tony Robinson. The shooting was labeled a "lawful use of deadly police force."
In February, 2017, Robinson's family accepted a 3.35 million dollar settlement from the city, to settle a civil rights lawsuit.