March, vigil mark 2 years since Tony Robinson's death

MADISON (WKOW) -- Family and friends are marking two years since Tony Robinson was shot and killed by a Madison police officer with another round of demonstrations.

A group gathered at East High School Monday night and marched through the streets to the Williamson Street area, where Robinson was killed March 6, 2015. There, they held a candlelight vigil in his memory. 

Robinson's mother Andrea Irwin tells 27 News she hopes something positive can come of her son's death.

"Ultimately, I want to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen to anyone else," she says. "I can't do anything about my son and the only thing I can do is try to clear his name, try to get people to stop being so hateful towards my family, but I really want to make sure there's some form of positive change [police] can put in place; different procedures, different policies, to make sure that something of this nature can't happen again."

The vigil not only marked Robinson's death, but also continued the fight over what the demonstrators call police violence-- a fight they say is not over.

"We can't afford to have people that aren't engaging in the community in a positive way, that speak transparency but don't actually live it, that speak accountability but yet go off the handle when anybody criticizes our force," says Matthew Braunginn, with Young Gifted & Black Coalition, which organized the rally.

Robinson's friends say they hope he'll be remembered.

"At the end of the day, it's been two years. He meant so much to so many people, and people I think tend to forget that he was a child, he had a mom, he had siblings," says Shelby Ring.

For more on this story: http://www.wkow.com/story/34680958/2017/03/06/march-vigil-mark-2-years-since-tony-robinsons-death


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content