Dane County DA Says He’ll Announce Decision In Tony Robinson Case On Tuesday

The Dane County district attorney will anounce on Tuesday whether or not he will charge a white Madison police officer for killing an unarmed black man on the city’s east side earlier this year, according to a Sunday press release.

Officer Matt Kenny fatally shot Tony Robinson on March 6 in an apartment building on Madison’s near east side. Kenny had gone to the apartment in response to complaints that a man had been dodging in and out of traffic and that he had assaulted two people. According to police, Kenny open fired after Robinson, 19, assaulted him inside the apartment.

The shooting immediately sparked protests in Madison, with some activists drawing parallels between the Robinson shooting and other high-profile police shootings around the country. There have been numerous marches and rallies held in Robinson’s name in the two months since his death, including a recent sit-in on a major Madison thoroughfare that resulted in multiple arrests.

An investigation into the shooting was conducted by the state Division of Criminal Investigation under a relatively new law that requires police-involved death to be reviewed by an external agency. The DCI handed over the results of its investigation to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne in March.

It now appears that Ozanne has made a decision regarding whether Kenny was justified in his use of lethal force.

Some, including members of Robinson’s family, have criticized the state’s investigation, asserting that the team that led it was made up of former police officers who could be biased in their review. Others still have criticized Ozanne for taking so long to come to a decision on whether to press charges.

Robinson’s mother Andrea Irwin said it was insensitive of the D.A.’s office to call her on Mother’s Day to inform her of his plans.

“I am trying to have some form of a normal day with my remaining three children, and that pretty much got taken away from me. He’s the reason I ever became, you know, to be able to celebrate this day, and he’s not here with me,” said Irwin.

Irwin said she believes her son’s shooting wasn’t justified.

Leaders of the Young Gifted and Black group that organized protests following the shooting said they’ll confer with the family before annoucing plans for a rally following the DA’s decision.

The president of the Dane County NAACP recently said that there has been “a great deal of anticipation and anxiety throughout Madison” as people have waited for a decision in the case.

Sunday’s press release from Ozanne fulfills a promise made last month that he would give 48-hours notice before announcing any decision related to the case.

Read the release below:

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with more information.