MADISON (WKOW) -- The city of Madison was dropped from a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Tony Robinson.
Robinson's family sued the city and Madison police officer Matt Kenny after Kenny shot and killed Robinson on March 6, 2015. The lawsuit alleges that Officer Kenny used unreasonable force against Robinson and the City of Madison "is also responsible for Robinson's death because the police department conducts shoddy investigations that do not hold officers accountable for shootings, thus encouraging officers to use deadly force with impunity."
Federal court records show Judge James Peterson determined the lawsuit did not present enough evidence to show that any city policy played a role in Robinson's death. In his decision, Peterson says "The bottom line is that plaintiff has not adduced evidence to show that Robinson died because the City turned a blind eye to obvious problems with the police department's investigation or response to officer-involved shootings."
Officer Kenny also filed a request to be dismissed from the lawsuit, but that was denied. Peterson wrote, "...what happened in the stairwell on March 6, 2015 is sharply and genuinely disputed. Thus the court must deny Kenny's motion for summary judgment. Whether Kenny's use of force was objectively unreasonable is an issue that must be resolved at trial."The case is scheduled to go to trial on February 27.Officer Kenny was cleared by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and the Madison Police Department.
For more on this story: http://www.wkow.com/story/34496272/2017/02/14/city-of-madison-dropped-from-civil-lawsuit-filed-over-shooting-of-tony-robinson