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Madison Community Groups Plan Response To DA’s Decision In Robinson Case

Coalition Of Faith Leaders To Lead March Through City Following Ozanne's Press Conference

By
Gilman Halsted/WPR

Several church and community groups in Madison are planning events to respond to the Dane County district attorney’s decision on Tuesday about whether to file charges against a white Madison police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed black man.

A faith-based nonprofit called the Madison-Area Urban Ministry says that a coalition of clergy will gather Tuesday near where 19-year-old Tony Robinson was shot on March 7 by Officer Matt Kenny on Madison’s east side. The gathering is scheduled to happen at the same time that District Attorney Ismael Ozanne begins his press conference.

Faith leaders say they will later march through downtown Madison, leading prayers and songs along the way, no matter what Ozanne decides.

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One of the leaders participating in the march is former Madison police chief David Couper, who is now an Episcopalian priest. At a community meeting in Madison on Monday prior to the announcement of the march, Couper said Ozanne will face criticism no matter what his decision is.

“If Officer Kenny is found to have committed a crime, it’s a really bad situation for the city of Madison and its Police Department, and if he is to be exonerated, no one will believe it who is a person of color who has had experience with the system,” he said.

Couper also said he’d like to see the community hold officers who shoot people to a higher standard.

“The question the community can ask is whether or not that person should be a police officer in that community. That’s the higher standard,” he said.

Churches will also be open on Tuesday for prayer and discussion about racial disparity in the community.

The Madison black rights coalition Young Gifted and Black say they will not hold a protest on Tuesday, although they will hold a protest the following day for an event known as “Black Out Wednesday.”

Tony Robinson’s family, which has launched its own investigation into the shooting, will hold a news conference at 4 p.m.