“The Narrative” continues on, this time in Madison, Wisconsin following an altercation between police and a suspect on Friday which led to the latter’s death.
The suspect, Tony Robinson, was black.
Members of the University of Wisconsin at Madison were in attendance at a Saturday protest of over 100 people, including representatives of Young, Gifted and Black, and About Race UW. They chanted “black lives matter,” “no justice, no peace” and “sang songs of protest and support.”
During their march, protesters blocked cars on East Washington Avenue. Police were already set up and prepared to redirect traffic. Some passing cars honked in support and drivers held their fists out in solidarity. This support, however, was not universal, as other drivers honked in frustration, and one passerby yelled at protesters to “get a job.”
However, the group continued on in union.
Friends of Robinson shared their emotional accounts of Friday night’s events and spoke in his memory.
“He was literally the happiest person I’ve ever known,” Robinson’s friend Isabella Denson said.
During the protest Madison Police officers stood firmly in front of Robinson’s home. They remained in their positions even while members of of the protest addressed them directly.
Robinson’s close friend Samantha Sorum spoke directly to police in her address to the protesters.
“He just graduated high school from Sun Prairie and he could have gone to college,” she said. “I bet some of you have children, too, that want to go to college … But [Tony’s] mom can’t send him there anymore because you took him from us, and now he’s gone forever.”
According to Madison Police Department Chief Mike Koval, Robinson had “assaulted [an] officer and during [a] struggle” in an apartment.
“… officers responded to reports of a disturbance where a man, who may have also been responsible for a battery, was jumping in and out of traffic,” Koval said. He (Robinson) had then entered an apartment to which the officer subsequently was summoned.
The Young, Gifted and Black Coalition “likened it to the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York.”
Maybe the YGB Coalition hasn’t heard yet that Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson was cleared of any wrongdoing in the Michael Brown case. It just might be wise to wait until a full investigation is completed before jumping to any conclusions.
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