Police officer cleared in shooting of Milwaukee man

MADISON, Wisc. -- A white Wisconsin police officer was exonerated Wednesday by an internal investigation of his fatal shooting of an unarmed 19-year-old biracial man, a move that clears the way for him to get his job back and that follows prosecutors declining to file charges.

The Madison Police Department issued a summary of its finding that Officer Matt Kenny did not violate its deadly force policies in the March 6 shooting death of 19-year-old Tony Robinson. The conclusion of the internal decision comes one month after Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne decided not to charge Kenny in the case.

The exoneration clears the way for Kenny, a 12-year veteran of the department who had been on paid leave since the shooting, to return to work.

"He's looking forward to working to getting back and doing the job he loves," said Kenny's attorney Jim Palmer, who is also executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association. Palmer said he spoke with Kenny, who was "pleased" with the decision.

Madison Police Chief Mike Koval has said he's looking at alternatives to Kenny returning to work in a patrol role, citing concerns about his safety. Threats have been made against both Kenny and the Robinson family.

While Kenny's safety is a concern, Palmer said "we anticipate he will be able to successfully be able to return to patrol." He said it was too soon to know how quickly Kenny may return. Koval was not immediately available for comment.

A summary of the investigation does not reveal any details about how the Police Department reached its conclusion. Kenny was also involved in a 2007 fatal shooting in which he was also cleared of any wrongdoing.

Kenny is reviewing the internal investigation report, as is allowed under the law, and will allow the Police Department to release it as early as Thursday, Palmer said.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said Koval would answer questions about the investigation later Wednesday.

A call to the home of Robinson's mother seeking comment on the decision rang unanswered.

Kenny shot and killed Robinson in an apartment house stairwell after Robinson, who was high on hallucinogenic mushrooms and had accosted others that night, struck the officer in the head.

Kenny had responded to 911 calls and found the apartment house door open. He heard what he believed to be a disturbance in the upstairs apartment and thought someone was being attacked, he told investigators.

He drew his firearm and began to climb the stairs. He was near the top when he announced himself as a police officer. Robinson appeared and punched him in the head, he said.

Kenny said he was worried Robinson would knock him down the stairs, take his gun, shoot him and kill whoever was in the apartment. Kenny told an investigator he couldn't use nonlethal force because of "space and time considerations."

Kenny has not spoken publicly since the shooting.

Protests after the shooting, and Ozanne's decision not to criminally charge Kenny, have all been peaceful, unlike some of the demonstrations that followed the high-profile deaths of black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore in the past year.