Madison police shooting leaves man dead and draws protesters
Police Chief John Patterson said an officer fatally shot a man after a knife struggle during an attempted arrest in a busy Madison neighborhood.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
A Madison police officer shot and killed a man in his 30s on Wednesday after the man injured the officer with a knife during an attempted arrest, Police Chief John Patterson said.
The man has not been publicly identified. Patterson offered condolences to his family at a news conference, saying the department recognized the loss while investigators work through what happened.
Cellphone footage of the shooting spread quickly on social media, and three gunshots can be heard in the clip. Patterson cautioned that the circulating video shows only one angle and said other video will be reviewed as part of the investigation.
The shooting happened on a street in a busy Madison neighborhood with restaurants, bars, shops and homes, less than two miles from the Wisconsin state Capitol. Video from the area showed cars stopped in an intersection as people watched the encounter unfold.
Police say a knife was pulled during arrest attempt
Patterson said officers had been sent to the neighborhood after reports that someone was trying to get into parked vehicles. He said the suspect rode a bike through nearby backyards while trying to get away before officers encountered him in the street.
During the stop, Patterson said, the man either fell from the bike or was taken off it by officers. A struggle followed, and the man pulled out what Patterson described as a large fixed-blade knife, injuring one officer, according to the chief.
An officer used a Taser, but Patterson said it did not work. The officer who had been hurt by the knife then fired his gun, Patterson said. The man who was shot later died at a hospital.
Patterson called the officer who opened fire a veteran member of the department but did not release his name or further identifying details. He said a photo of the knife would be released later.
A second officer was also injured, though Patterson said police do not believe that injury was caused by the knife. Two other officers at the scene were not hurt. All four officers will be placed on administrative leave, which Patterson said is standard department procedure.
Protests form near scene
A crowd gathered near the site of the shooting Wednesday night, with some protesters chanting, “Arrest the cops!” Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong was among those present.
Police have not released the race of the officer who fired or the race of the man who was killed. Black community advocates in Madison said the man was Black.
Brandi Grayson, who leads the Madison-based advocacy group Urban Triage, said, “Another Black man is dead on a Madison street, and our community watched him die before we even knew his name.” She described the death as “the cruelty of state violence.”
The same street was the site of another fatal police shooting in 2015, when a white officer killed Tony Robinson, who was biracial. That shooting led to large protests. Prosecutors did not charge the officer, finding the shooting justified, and Robinson’s family accepted a $3.35 million settlement from the city in 2017.
Patterson said police planned to contact community members and leaders as the city prepared for possible further demonstrations. The Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation will handle the inquiry because the case involves police officers.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.