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Madison, Wisc. to Pay $3.3M to Family of Tony Robinson, a Black Teenager Shot by Police

StoryFebruary 23, 2017
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In Madison, Wisconsin, attorneys for the family of an American-American teenager who was shot dead by a city police officer have reached a $3.35 million settlement. Nineteen-year-old Tony Robinson was unarmed when officer Matt Kenny forced his way into an apartment following a “disturbance” in 2015. He was shot seven times. Prosecutors declined to charge Kenny, and he was cleared by the Madison Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit. This week’s settlement is the largest ever for an officer-involved killing in Wisconsin.

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This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: And finally, you’re joining us from Madison, Wisconsin, where attorneys for the family of an African-American teenager, who was shot dead by a city police officer, have reached a more than $3 million settlement. It’s about 19-year-old Tony Robinson, who was unarmed when officer Matt Kenny forced his way into an apartment following a, quote, “disturbance” in 2015. He was shot—what was it? Seven times. Your response to this settlement that is, I believe, the largest in Madison?

LISA GRAVES: It is the largest settlement. And I think we’ll hear from the family later today about it. But this is a situation in which an enormous amount of force was used, even though the police said that force was justified. It really calls into question, in Madison, in cities across the country, the use of force versus nonlethal—nonlethal force or nonlethal efforts to subdue individuals if there is an altercation or if there is a dispute. Seven shots fired is a significant amount. That settlement is a significant amount. I hope that that settlement means that there will be more reforms to provide greater instruction and training for our police, to make sure that there aren’t more and more of these lethal shootings.

AMY GOODMAN: Lisa, we’re going to have to leave it there. Lisa Graves of the Center for Media and Democracy. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.

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Police Killings of Black & Brown People May Be Double Previous Estimates: La Raza Database Project

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