RE: Tony Robinson

And now, to address, at length, the killing of 19-year old unarmed Tony Robinson by a Madison cop. I think some people, mostly White liberals, have a rather sentimental view of what cops are, and what cops actually DO. The very nature of law enforcement entails the potential implementation of the most violent tactics imaginable. True, Madison Police are statistically less violent, use less lethal force than cities such as Milwaukee, Albuquerque or New York City. But still.... While Madison's Chief Koval, quoted recently in the Wisconsin State Journal, denies the existence of 1. A systematic pattern of racist abuse among his officers, and 2. The existence of "rougue cops" on the Madison force, I beg to differ. I wish Koval were right, and I understand why he would say such a thing, given his official position. But his assertions are contradicted by "the facts on the ground." (Not to mention the theory of statistical averages - there will always be SOME "rogues," after all.) The common MPD practice of extreme over-reaction and provocation in many, if not all, interactions with black "suspects" often creates an impression dramatically different from Koval's. Especially during traffic stops. In the mind of say, an innocent young Black male motorist who is confronted by numerous heavily-armed Madison officers, all pointing semi-automatic weapons threateningly at himself and his unarmed passengers.... supposedly because he matched the description of some other suspect.... and, what's more.... hopefully, those police weapons aren't FULLY automatic! It happens a lot more than most White Madisonians realize. If I were routinely treated in such a menacing way, which I'm not, I too would be continuously upset, or concerned, or livid, or all of the above. So I was extremely impressed by, and sympathetic to the large, militant, and mostly Black crowd that turned out in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. It all happened so fast. I'd never seen anything quite like it in Madison. Very impressive response, and quite a moderate, verbal reaction on the part of demonstrators, considering the rage and pain so widely shared. Having said that, I'm not yet convinced this White cop (who it must be noted, shot the guy FIVE TIMES!!) killed unarmed Tony Robinson because he was a Black, or bi-racial youth. A strictly racist motivation is POSSIBLE, but that remains to be proved. Officer Kenny may have simply been so afraid, he lost control. He may have been losing the fight. Not a good enough reason to shoot an unarmed suspect five times, it would seem to me. Some well-deserved soul-searching is needed among the top brass about the use of lethal force generally. Madison's weekly, "Isthmus," reports that cops in this state have killed five non-whites and six whites since April 23, 2014. That's the date Wisconsin passed a law requiring officers who kill a person be investigated by a minimum of two investigators from an outside agency. Some were unarmed, like Tony Robinson. That's quite a substantial number, actually! It's WAY too high. I remember when a ROGUE Madison cop killed slight-of-stature, unarmed Madison musician and personality Paul Heenan, who happened to be White. The cop told an unlikely tale about the admittedly drunk Heenan making a move for his service weapon during a November, 2012 altercation. Eyewitnesses to the shooting contradicted Heimsness' account, as the article below reports. Many of us in the community protested THAT police murder, through demonstrations, emails and calls to the mayor and Common Council. And other means. (Check Paul Heenan's Facebook page). The actual facts surrounding Paul Heenan's death have been widely contested during the intervening years. But one thing's for sure - Paul's killer, Officer Heimsness, was FINALLY fired from the MPD in the wake of scandalous revelations about his personal conduct UNRELATED to Mr. Heenan's death. Rogue ex-cop Stephen Heimsness lives comfortably now, on disability pay. http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=44662 It takes a lot of work to achieve even the most minimal amount of justice, when police unjustifiably kill citizens, of any color. But the recent unpunished killings, by vigilantes and cops nation-wide, of many unarmed Black males probably amounts to a systematic violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of Equal Protection Under the Law. Where have all the "radical lawyers" gone?