MADISON, Wis. — The police shooting death of a man who injured an officer with a knife while resisting arrest has roiled the city of Madison, Wisconsin, with Gov. Tony Evers calling for “transparency and accountability” in any investigation and community members gathering Thursday at a growing memorial for the man.
Protesters marched Wednesday after the shooting and held a candlelight vigil for the man who died. Some even stayed at the growing memorial of candles, flowers and signs overnight, like Ben Weger.
“I don’t plan to leave anytime soon because it’s important to hold this space,” said Weger, pastor of Stoughton United Methodist Church about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.
Sabrina Thompsen, of Madison, was crying at the memorial site. “It’s really unbearable,” she said. “You can’t describe it.”
Evers posted online saying, “We will continue to keep the loved ones and family of the individual who was killed in our hearts and prayers.”
“His life mattered,” the governor said.
Cellphone video of the confrontation, where three gunshots could be heard, circulated on social media.
Madison Police Chief John Patterson stressed at a news conference that the online footage was just one perspective of what happened.
“I want to take a moment to honestly and sincerely offer my heartfelt sympathies to his family for this loss,” Patterson said. The man killed was in his 30s, Patterson said, but police did not release his name.
Patterson said police were responding to calls that someone was attempting to enter parked vehicles in the neighborhood. The suspect fled on a bike in an attempt to get away before officers contacted him in the street.
The suspect either fell off his bike or was taken off his bike by officers, Patterson said. During the struggle, the suspect pulled out a knife and injured an officer. An officer deployed a taser but it was unsuccessful. The same officer who was injured by the knife fired his weapon and the man who was shot died later at the hospital. The chief described the officer who fired his weapon as a veteran officer, but did not reveal any other details.
Another officer was injured, but it is not clear how, Patterson said. Two other officers who were involved were uninjured.
The Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting, and the four officers will be placed on administrative leave.
“There are questions that must be answered,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway posted online. “It’s understandable that people want answers now.”
The shooting happened on a city street in a popular neighborhood lined with restaurants, bars, shops and residential homes less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the state Capitol. Footage shows numerous cars stopped in the intersection with people watching as it unfolded.
A white police officer shot and killed Tony Robinson, who was biracial, on the same street in 2015; a shooting that spurred large protests. The district attorney did not file charges against police in that case, determining the officer was justified.
The race of the officer who fired his gun on Wednesday and that of the man killed were not released by police.
But Black advocacy groups in Madison quickly spoke out against the crime and said they believed the man was Black.
“Another Black man is dead on a Madison street, and our community watched him die before we even knew his name,” said Brandi Grayson, the head of the Madison-based Black community advocacy group Urban Triage. “That is the cruelty of state violence.”
The shooting quickly infused itself into the Democratic race for governor, with one candidate addressing mourners at the site of the vigil Wednesday night and others calling for swift investigations.
“I am horrified and devastated,” posted Francesca Hong, who showed up at the scene just a few blocks from her campaign office.
Another candidate, County Executive David Crowley, said while details of what happened are still needed, “these reports are painfully reminiscent of the tragedies we have witnessed in Kenosha, Minneapolis, and far too many communities across our country.”
A crowd had formed near where the shooting occurred on Wednesday with people chanting, “Arrest the cops!” They placed flowers and candles where the man was shot.
Protesters also marched to the state Capitol and took the stage at a summer concert series, demanding the name of the officer and that he be held accountable. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra announced on social media the show was canceled.
