A candlelight vigil was held in Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday (March 8) for Tony Robinson Jr., an unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a white policeman, the latest in a string of killings that have intensified concerns of racial bias in US law enforcement.
Activists held the vigil outside the apartment home where Robinson died.
Robinson, 19, was shot in Madison, Wisconsin's capital, on Friday evening after Officer Matt Kenny responded to calls of a man dodging cars in traffic who had allegedly battered another person, Police Chief Mike Koval said.
Kenny, 45, followed the suspect into an apartment, where the officer was struck in the head, according to Koval. Kenny then shot the unarmed teen, who died later in a local hospital.
Last year, the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City triggered a wave of demonstrations against the use of excessive force by law enforcement.
Kenny is on paid administrative leave while the Wisconsin Department of Justice conducts an investigation.
In a statement on the city's website, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin called the shooting "a tragedy beyond description" and said the city would be transparent in communicating results of an investigation into the shooting.
He noted that the incident occurred on the same weekend as the 50th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" march in Selma, Alabama, a turning point in the U.S. civil rights movement.
Kenny, a 12-year veteran of the Madison Police Department, was exonerated in a police shooting in 2007 and even earned a commendation in the incident, Koval said.
According to media reports, a 48-year-old man in that instance was shot to death after he pointed a gun at officers and refused to drop his weapon. The weapon was later determined to be a replica of a .38-caliber handgun.
Wisconsin court records show that Robinson pleaded guilty to armed robbery last year and received a probated six-month sentence. Koval declined to comment on Robinson's record.
REUTERS
For more details, watch Remmy Derbass' full report in the video above