Hundreds of Madison Protesters Shut Down Capitol Concert After 1 Police Shooting

3 articles · Updated · WPR · Jul 23

Hundreds of protesters marched from the shooting scene to Wisconsin’s Capitol on Wednesday evening, prompting organizers to cancel the Concerts on the Square event.
Madison police said the protest followed an afternoon encounter in which one officer fatally shot a man in his 30s after he fled on a bike, produced a large fixed-blade knife and injured the officer; a Taser had failed.
Two bystander videos circulated online, with witnesses saying officers shot the man while he was on the ground and disputing police claims that he brandished a weapon.
Four officers involved were placed on leave, and Wisconsin’s Division of Criminal Investigation is handling the case as police withheld the dead man’s name and race.
The shooting happened in the same Marquette neighborhood where police killed 19-year-old Tony Robinson in 2015, a history Chief John Patterson said added to the community’s trauma.