Washington : Yet another white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in March in one of a spate of similar incidents sparking protests around America will not face criminal charges.
Tony Robinson Jr, a 19-year-old black man was fatally shot by white police officer Matt Kenny in Madison, Wisconsin, on March 6, setting off days of protests in the city amid tensions over several such previous incidents. There have been at least 14 major instances of a white policeman shooting dead a black person since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot on Feb 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. And in all of them policemen have gone scot-free.
Baltimore, near Washington, which last month erupted in riots and violence last month over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man in police custody, was different from other incidents in that six involved police officers have been charged there.
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne announced Tuesday that he had concluded “that this tragic and unfortunate death was the result of a lawful use of deadly police force and that no charges should be brought against Officer Kenny”
While the Wisconsin Professional Police Association welcomed the decision not to charge Kenny, it drew swift criticism from several of Robinson’s family members with his grandmother, Sharon Irwin saying “This is politics, and not justice.”
Robinson’s mother Andrea Irwin said her family “absolutely” plans to file a civil lawsuit against the Police Department and alleged: “They have done a smear campaign against my child and against me since this all began.”
Robinson’s family has hired a Chicago law firm to carry out its own investigation into the shooting and commissioned a private autopsy, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Arun Kumar
