A U.S. district judge dismissed the city of Madison as a defendant Monday in a civil rights lawsuit from the mother of Tony Robinson, a biracial teenager who was killed by a white Madison Police Department officer almost two years ago.
Andrea Irwin, Robinson’s mother, filed the case against the city of Madison and MPD Officer Matt Kenny after Kenny fatally shot her 19-year-old son in a police standoff, inciting protests throughout the city.
The judge found the lawsuit presents no city practices that could have lead to Robinson’s death, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Kenny also requested dismissal as a defendant, but U.S. District Judge James Peterson denied this request because the events that happened in the stairwell when Kenny confronted Robinson are “sharply and genuinely disputed.” Kenny told investigators he was in fear for his life when Robinson reportedly struck him.
Robinson reportedly ran into the street and battered two people before returning to his Near East Side residence. Kenny was the first officer to respond to these reports and went into the stairwell of the apartment after he heard what he believed was someone being assaulted.
Irwin said Kenny entered the scene without backup, which disregards police policy, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. She said Kenny lied because he was able to create his own version of the story while he examined the scene and listened to audio recordings before he gave a formal statement to investigators.
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Kenny was cleared of violating MPD policies after an internal investigation.
The case is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 27. A jury will decide if Kenny acted properly when he confronted Robinson.
