Protests In Madison, WI After Police Kill Unarmed Teen

When I first heard about this, and that citizens were organizing to protest, it did not take me by surprise. Madison, Wisconsin is known as a college town.  People travel from Illinois to Madison for health services. Madison is known for its veteran’s and research hospitals. It is a city where many residents are professionals and college students.

Fort McCoy’s Total Force Training Center is about a two-hour drive from Madison, and it is not unusual to see military personnel and their families use Madison as a meeting place and to socialize. Dane County Regional Airport is located in Madison, WI. When I visited there, I found diversity. There are no second looks on mixed race couples.

Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny

What am I saying? When Madison police officer Matt Kenny killed unarmed 19-year old Tony Robinson, he not only killed an unarmed person, but he also tarnished Madison’s reputation as the city in Wisconsin that seeks positive changes for its state. Officer Kenny did this in a state that does not have the death penalty. Understand that to mean that there is no crime in the State of Wisconsin where judicial punishment is death. In 1853, Wisconsin was the first state in America to permanently abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

After Jeffrey Dahmer’s crimes became public knowledge, there was a push in the Wisconsin legislature to reinstate the death penalty. Between 1991 and 1996, 22 Bills were introduced for reinstatement. None made it through legislative committees.

When an unarmed person is killed by the police, and social media takes off to justify the killing of a “thug,” the people of Madison take exception to that. They do not kill their own even when the person is convicted for murder.