Protests Erupt In Madison, Wisconsin, After Officer Fatally Shoots Man Who Allegedly ‘Fled On A Bicycle’

A man was shot and killed by a police officer in Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, and the local police department says the victim pulled a knife and injured the cop who killed him. While neither the officer nor the civilian has been publicly identified yet, protesters have been gathering in Madison, indicating that the local community isn’t happy with the police violence happening in their streets.

According to the Washington Post, Madison Police Chief John Patterson said in a news conference that officers were dispatched to Madison’s Marquette neighborhood just before 1 p.m. Wednesday in response to a report of a man checking the doors of parked vehicles. Patterson said the shooting victim, described as a man in his 30s, “fled on a bicycle” through backyards after police arrived at the scene, and officers caught up with him around 1:30 p.m. near South Baldwin and Williamson streets. And that’s when the chaotic scene turned deadly.

From the Post:

During the struggle, an officer deployed a Taser while three other officers attempted to restrain the man, but the Taser was “unsuccessful,” Patterson said. Only one officer fired shots, he said.

All four officers have been placed on administrative leave.

Madison resident Michael Doubek, 31, was getting a sandwich nearby when he noticed a number of police cruisers in the area and pulled out his phone to record. A bicyclist had either fallen or been knocked off his bike and three officers were crowded around him in the middle of the intersection, Doubek said.

“He’s got a knife!” one of the officers yelled, Doubek’s video shows. The man appeared to struggle with the three officers, rising up as they tried to force him to the ground. A fourth ran up, yelled “Taser, Taser, Taser,” and then discharged a Taser, according to the video. The man collapsed to the ground, on his side.

A moment later, as one of the officers pressed a knee into the man’s lower-back area, another fired three shots.

“It was basically point blank, three shots to the head, upper-chest area,” Doubek said.

Source: Protests Erupt In Madison, Wisconsin, After Officer Fatally Shoots Man Who Allegedly ‘Fled On A Bicycle’