State Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, pulled into a gas station Friday night and saw firsthand why a bipartisan law she co-authored during the last Assembly session is so important.
She reported on her Facebook page at 9:14 p.m. that she had just witnessed the events leading to an officer-involved shooting on Williamson Street. It was an early account of an altercation between Tony Robinson and Madison Police Department Officer Matt Kenny that left Robinson shot dead.
“It is an unspeakable tragedy,” Taylor, who represents the Willy Street neighborhood, said in the post. “I’m heartbroken for everyone involved and for my community.”
As grief, anger and calls for justice cut through the cold night at the intersection of Williamson and Few, the 2014 law Taylor had helped to pass was already in motion. It mandates several members outside the department’s staff look into officer-involved shootings, with one of the outside investigators leading the case. The investigators must refer their report to the county’s district attorney and if the district attorney does not decide to charge the officer, the investigators’ report must be released to the public. There are also provisions to provide the victim’s family with information about the legal rights and avenues they have available.
The law’s existence is the result of extensive advocacy from people like Michael Bell, a Kenosha man whose son was fatally shot by a police officer in 2004. Taylor and former state Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, the law’s lead author, thankfully had the foresight to get the mandates on the books. It made Wisconsin progressive in it’s handling of officer-involved shootings.
MPD followed the law Friday, saving the scene of the shooting for investigators from the state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation. Although it led to tight-lipped MPD accounts of what happened that night and a refusal to let protesters lay flowers at the scene, it is a step in the right direction.
But a small one.
It’s better to have an outside group, especially one who specializes in such investigations, combing through the incident instead of a strictly interdepartmental review.
Attorney General Brad Schimel, who leads the state DOJ, promised a “thorough, professional and transparent investigation” in his official release.
I want to believe that is true. I would hope outside investigations like the one in this instance would not only lead to a fair assessment of Friday’s tragic events, but also strike to the root of why such regrettable incidents happen in the first place.
But transparency failed to bring a charge against the officer who fatally shot Dontre Hamilton 15 times in a Milwaukee park last year. That was the first time the law was applied.
Now an unarmed 19-year-old is dead.
It’s time to once again put the law to the test, to find out if it really can be one small step toward changing a skewed and broken system.
What are your thoughts on Jack’s take? Is this legislation a good first step? Will the law go far enough in ensuring that justice is realized? Would you advodate for an alternate solution? We would like to know what you think. Please send all thoughts and comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
