Matt Kenny, the Madison police officer who fatally shot Tony Robinson, 19, Friday night, was involved several years ago in another fatal shooting. Former Isthmus news editor Bill Lueders wrote about the incident in a July 26, 2007 opinion column.
Lueders interviewed the victim's sister, Kate Brandon, who remembered her brother, Ron Brandon, 48, as a 'good soul' who had called police to his east-side residence because he despondent and drunk and was "crying out for help." Brandon was on his front porch when police arrived.
"He purportedly pointed what appeared to be a .38-caliber revolver first at his own head and then at an officer, drawing a lethal rifle shot," Lueders wrote. It turned out that Brandon was holding a pellet gun.
Lueders noted that two other individuals with mental illness had within the last year been killed by law enforcement officers. He observed that "police are always taught to gain the upper hand in potentially dangerous situations" but also questioned whether there is a better police model to prevent such tragedies.
The piece is linked here.
Another tragic police shooting
Did Ron Brandon really have to die? Yes, given how cops are trained
