August 19, 2015

The TRUTH About the Killing of Tony Robinson in Madison, Wisconsin: DA's Bogus Presser

The public has not been told what actually happened the night Tony Robinson was killed by Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny. Since day one, media coverage has been incomplete, disjointed, and misleading. The facts prove beyond a doubt that the killing was not justified. This is Part 1 of a three part series. Dane County DA’s Misleading Press Conference And Decision Not to Press Charges.

Everything in this report comes directly from Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation Case Report (Case/REport Number 15-1188145) and supporting evidence (including video) released to stakeholders in the case who have requested anonymity, direct conversations with key parties who's identities are redacted from the full report, and documentation that is available under Open Records laws).

The press release and script Dane County District Ismael Ozanne read on May 12, 2015, are inaccurate and each was carefully constructed to lead readers and viewers to false conclusions. This is why DA Ismael Ozanne sweated profusely during this press conference and appeared to be on the verge of getting sick. He knew what he was doing was wrong and potentially criminal.



DA Ozanne presented key facts out-of-sequence and omitted critical information. For example: There was no one in the upper apartment. Tony Robinson was alone when Officer Matt Kenny arrived. There was no one that Kenny needed to rush to protect. Kenny did not hear anything that he could have believed was an assault in-progress.

There is a credible witness that heard everything that happened that night. I need to protect the identity of that party that clearly heard everything that evening. This witness states it was calm upstairs when Kenny arrived. There was no reason for Kenny to assume an assault or fight was in progress upstairs. Kenny did not have probable cause to enter the apartment and kill Tony Robinson.

Ozanne made entirely false statements. To justify Officer Kenny entering the building with his gun drawn, police had to make-up a character, a non-existent person, who they claimed was in the upstairs apartment with Tony Robinson. Police, investigators, and the DA knew this was not true, yet they used a fictitious assault as probable cause for Kenny to enter the apartment.

The news media has repeatedly published the false narrative that Officer Kenny heard an assault when he arrived at the scene. This is a fabrication. A witness who heard everything that night, reports there was no scuffle, altercation, or any sounds that could have been mistaken as such. A credible source, who must remain anonymous at this time, clearly and accurately heard everything that happened upstairs and on the stairwell the night Tony Robinson was killed.

First of Three 911 Calls. When DA Ozanne outlined the results from the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) report on the Tony Robinson shooting, he misrepresented the first call to 911, from Robinson’s friend, at 6:28 pm. DA Ozanne, during his press conference, twice falsely asserted that this caller was scared of Robinson. This is not true and Ozanne knew it.

This caller, a close friend of Tony Robinson, did not state that Robinson represented a threat. This friend was not frightened and did not fear his friend. This first caller’s purpose was to get Robinson help as he had taken a potentially dangerous amount of psychedelic mushrooms and was behaving irrationally. The first 911 caller was not concerned for his safety.

This caller was concerned for a friend, Tony Robinson, who he reported was “tweaking, [and] chasing everybody”, acting “really outrageous right now”, and “going crazy”. This caller also reported that Robinson was unarmed. Officer Kenny was directly told this. Kenny was directed by dispatch to respond to a Code 96 [10-96], which is a mental health issue. This first 911 call was not about Tony Robinson being a threat or danger.

The Second of Three 911 Calls. The 911 call at 6:31 pm was also from a friend of Tony Robinson. This person also called to get help for his friend. This caller was not afraid of Robinson and did not feel threatened or intimidated by him. Robinson did not hurt this person. Robinson did not threaten or hurt anyone on the day he was killed.

The Third of Three 911 Calls. DA Ozanne stated that the third call to 911, at 6:32 pm, was from someone that reported Tony Robinson had tried to choke him. This caller, however, has directly and repeatedly stated that Robinson did not in any way try to hurt him. This means there was no choke, which is an act to harm. Even if the caller used that term, he is adamant that Tony Robinson was not trying to hurt him. While Robinson and this 911 caller had some type of interaction, it did not cause this party to feel threatened, nor did this party feel their safety was in jeopardy. The police, investigators, and the DA knew this.

Tony Robinson Did Not Hurt, Threaten, or Scare Anyone. Despite the fact that no one indicated that Tony Robinson was a danger to anyone, Officer Kenny was told by dispatch that there were three possible victims. This was not true. The first 2 calls were from friends and they clearly stated they did not feel threatened. The third caller stated the same.

The first 2 callers tried to get help for a friend that was having a bad experience with psychedelic mushrooms. None of the 911 callers were attacked by Tony Robinson. None felt intimidate or threatened by him. His friends were concerned about Robinson’s safety. The third caller is adamant and direct: Tony Robinson did not try to harm him in any way.

Robinson Was No Threat to Anyone. There was no legitimate reason for Officer Kenny to believe that Tony Robinson posed a threat to him or anyone else. DA Ismael Ozanne’s statements indicates that Kenny was informed that Robinson had no weapon. Kenny was told that Robinson’s erratic behavior that night was caused by a controlled substance and that his friends were concerned about Robinson’s safety. Kenny was dispatched to the scene to help Tony Robinson. Kenny was not dispatched because Robinson was reported as a danger.

Robinson Was Not Outside on Williamson Street When Police Responded. Officer Matt Kenny has misleadingly stated he saw Tony Robinson on Williamson Street when he arrived on the scene. The truth is that after the incident on Williamson Street that prompted the third 911 call, Tony Robinson returned to 1125 Williamson Street, which was where he lived. Unknown to Officer Matt Kenny, a credible witness, exactly placed to know what happened, heard what sounded like the downstairs door to apartment #2 being forced open. The door was not secure, the deadbolt was weak, and it took little to force the door open.

This witness heard someone go up the stairs to Tony Robinson’s apartment before Officer Matt Kenny was dispatched to the scene. This party heard someone run up the stairs and then heard three loud sounds, “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM” like someone hitting a hard object, like someone was pounding on a door or wall, before Robinson made it to the top of the stairs.

Tony Robinson Damaged the Wall by the 8th Step. A key witness heard Tony Robinson hitting and damaging the wall by the 8th step of the stairway. The drywall there is ½ inch thick. Robinson damaged his hand smashing a hole in the wall. The damage on the wall next to the 8th step had Robinson’s blood on it. The Robinson family’s forensics investigation shows that Robinson’s knuckles and hand had remnants of drywall, proof that it was Robinson’s hand that damaged the wall. The DCI autopsy did not even look for this evidence. Why not? Did they know that such a finding would rule out Officer Kenny’s alibi?

Officer Kenny claims the damage by the 8th step was caused by his head being slammed against the wall at the 8th step. There is no evidence to support this. DA Ozzane knew this. The evidence proves Tony Robinson damaged the wall there. There is absolutely no evidence that Kenny ever made up the stairs to the top, nor even partway to the 8th step.

There is no evidence that Officer Kenny’s head was slammed against the wall. Both the Madison Police and DCI claim they did not check to see if Kenny’s blood or DNA was left on the damaged wall. Did they know that Kenny’s story was not true? How could they not look for scientific evidence that would have supported Kenny’s story? Didn’t Tony’s family and the public have a right to expect a meaningful investigation? Failing to event try to verify Kenny’s alibi entirely undermines everything else in the DCI investigation.

Officer Kenny’s Story is Impossible. The family’s investigation re-enacted Kenny’s account to see if it could have happened in the 18 seconds he was inside the building. The shootings took 3-to-4 seconds. Subtracting this from the 18 seconds Kenny was in the building, it becomes evident that Officer Matt Kenny’s account cannot be true, because the actions he describes could not happen in the 14-15 second before Kenny fired multiple deadly shots at Tony Robinson.

In 15 seconds or less, Kenny could not have entered the door at the bottom of the stairs and:

1. Look-up the steep pitch-black dark steps and assess the situation in the apartment above.

2. Cautiously go up the steep pitch-black dark stairway. Officer Kenny did not turn-on his flashlight. The bottom stairs that night were littered with at least 5 pairs of shoes when Kenny arrived. He would have had to carefully step over them without tripping.

3. Encounter someone at the top of the stairs, have a confrontation, fall back to the 8th step, and have his head slammed against the wall so forcefully it left holes in the wall and resulted in a concussion.

4. While nearly passed out, return down these steep, pitch-black dark and cluttered steps and again step over all of the shoes near the bottom without tripping.

5. Engage in another confrontation at the bottom of the steps.

6. Assume a firing position with a professional service revolver, a Glock 9 mm, and precisely aim and begin firing, with deadly accuracy, at least 7 or 8 times.

Officer Kenny’s Head Did Not Hit the Wall. It is not credible to state that Kenny’s head hit the wall by the 8th step. Scientific evidence proves it was Tony Robinson’s hand that damaged the wall. Even if there was a confrontation between Kenny and Tony Robinson, and there is no evidence there was any contact at the top of the stairs, there is essentially no chance that Kenny’s head could have hit the wall exactly where Robinson damaged it earlier with his fist. In terms of statistical probabilities, this would be extremely implausible with virtually zero probability of occurring.

Witness confirms that Tony Robinson damaged the wall. There were three pounding sounds before Officer Kenny was called to the scene. This is consistent with the forensic evidence. Robinson damaged the wall by the 8th step in the stairwell with his hand. This damaged occurred before Kenny received the call from dispatch to respond.

Officer Kenny’s head did not cause the damage by the 8th step. He was not slammed against any wall in the pitch-black dark stairwell. Kenny did not suffer a concussion. He could not have believed he might pass out and fall unconscious at the scene, because he suffered no head injury that night. Kenny had no reason to use deadly force on an unarmed man that was not a danger to anyone but himself. Kenny had no reason to believe his service revolver might end up in the hands of Tony Robinson. The use of deadly force was entirely unjustifiable; was manslaughter at-best, but more likely murder; and there is a criminal cover up.

Officer Kenny Admitted to his Supervisor He Did Not Go Up Stairs. The most damning evidence, an audio recording DA Ozanne had access to and reviewed, is that immediately after the shooting, Kenny was told to give a summary of what had just happened. Kenny admitted to his immediate supervisor that he "maybe, possibly went half way up the stairs." He actually directly stated that the alibi DA Ozanne accepted is entirely false.

This is the smoking gun. Officer Matt Kenny's excuse for using deadly force against Tony Robinson is based on the lie that he went up to the top of the 12-step stairs; that Robinson attacked him and forcefully pushed him down; slammed his head against the wall at the 8th step; Kenny's head damaged the wall; and this left Kenny to believe he had suffered concussion and was on the verge of passing out, afraid that Robinson might grab his gun.

How was this lie concocted? Officer Matt Kenny was given 3 days to review all evidence and even revisit the scene. His story was revised twice so that Madison Police Department could claim that Kenny lawfully used deadly force. Since Kenny admitted immediately after the killing that he never went up the stairs, the concocted alibi is not only false, it is another crime.