Police in Madison, Wisc., are urging locals to “exercise restraint” after the fatal police shooting of a 19-year-old black man on Friday sparked multiple protests, including a sit-in at city hall.
“In light of so much things that have happened not just across the country, but in our own community, it’s understandable that the reaction at the scene and of some of our citizens is extremely volatile, emotional and upsetting,” Police Chief Mike Koval said Saturday, the Detroit Free Press reports. “That’s absolutely appropriate under these circumstances. We would urge, obviously, that everyone exercise restraint, calm and allow the Division of Criminal Investigation to conduct their affairs.”
Koval said one officer was responding to reports of a man jumping into traffic and assaulting a pedestrian. The officer followed the man, whose mother identified him as Tony Robinson, to his apartment and forced his entry after allegedly overhearing a disturbance inside. The officer opened fire after Robinson allegedly assaulted him. Koval said preliminary evidence “did not reflect a gun or anything of that nature that would have been used by the subject.”
More than 100 people showed up at the crime scene chanting “black lives matter” before breaking up early Saturday morning. The Wisconsin Department of Justice will investigate the confrontation.
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