Unarmed man killed in Wisconsin police shooting was shot in the head

The unarmed 19-year-old who was shot and killed in a deadly clash with a police officer in Wisconsin’s state capital last week was shot at least once in the head, according to autopsy results made public on Friday.

Tony Robinson was shot in the “head, torso and right upper extremity,” according to a statement released Friday by the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Robinson had allegedly battered someone and was walking in and out of traffic on March 6 when he was confronted by Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny, authorities have said. Kenny tracked Robinson to an apartment, and police allege Robinson struck the officer in the head during a physical altercation.

Kenny opened fire and Robinson died after being shot several times. Police have not said how many rounds were fired and the medical examiner’s office did not touch on that subject. The results of toxicology studies, which would determine if Robinson had been drinking or taking drugs at the time of the shooting, will not be available for weeks, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Robinson was one of three unarmed black men shot and killed by police in the U.S. in the past week, the latest in a string of shootings that have led to protests in New York City, Ferguson, Mo., and more recently, Georgia and Colorado.

Nearly 2,000 college and high school-age students descended on the Wisconsin statehouse on Monday, flooding the state legislative chamber and unfurling a massive banner with the words “Black Lives Matter.”

But unlike recent unrest in Ferguson, where two police officers were shot and seriously injured this week during the latest round of protests in the wake of Michael Brown’s death last year, few, if any, arrests or injuries have been reported in Wisconsin.

Gov. Scott Walker spoke with Robinson’s mother on Wednesday and met with local activists to discuss the fallout from the shooting, according to Michael Johnson, chief executive and president of the Boys & Girls Club in Dane County, who arranged the family’s phone call with Walker. Madison Police Chief Mike Koval also apologized to the Robinson family in a blog post published Monday.

The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the probe into the shooting, said Thursday its review was nearly complete. The agency has already conducted dozens of interviews and dispatched nearly 30 agents to Madison.

“We have been working expeditiously and we are near the point where we have completed the interviews and collection of information in this investigation,” Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said in the statement. “At the end of the day, this is a human tragedy for Tony Robinson’s family and for the police officer involved.”

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