The family members of Quadren L. Wilson gathered Thursday afternoon for a press conference outside the Wisconsin State Capitol to raise awareness for and protest state officers shooting Wilson in the back while arresting him Feb. 3.
Wilson’s family said they want the press conference to get the attention of government officials and legislators to take action in support of Wilson and others who have been harmed or killed by police violence.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the incident and confirmed that two agents with the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Justice Investigation fired their weapons while arresting Wilson and that Wilson was unarmed at the time, according to Channel 3000.
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Following the shooting, authorities brought Wilson to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries. The authorities then put Wilson in the Dane County Jail, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
After the initial surgery, Wilson had to return to the hospital after a cyst formed and possible fluid on his spine while in the Dane County Jail. Wilson received surgery for the cyst, then returned to the Dane County Jail.
“He has been shot in his back multiple times,” one of Wilson’s family members said. “He has contracted infections while incarcerated at the Dane County Jail.”
Wilson’s family members said there had been no justice for Wilson during the press conference.
The authorities have not taken any action to hold the officers who fired their weapons accountable, the family said.
“It’s time for everyone in this community to demand that they be fired, to demand that they be charged and to demand that they be arrested for trying to kill another Black man,” Wilson’s family member said. “Here we are in front of the DCI office. They don’t want to talk to the family, they don’t want to do anything.”
The family member called out Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, saying that he has known about this situation but is actively choosing not to address it.
“I am tired, I am angry,” a family member said. “This family is hurt. Let’s get some justice for this family. Let’s get these police arrested. It’s time — no more talk.”
Police brutality continues to harm Black communities across the United States, Wilson’s family said. Justice is long overdue for both Wilson and the other Black people the police have harmed, Wilson’s family said.
The goal of the press conference was to attract public attention to eventually charge the officers who shot Wilson, Wilson’s mother Stacy Morris said.
As the Dane County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the shooting and Wilson remains incarcerated, his family said they will continue the fight for justice — for both Wilson and the Black community at large.
