MADISON, Wis. — A Madison police officer fatally shot a man who authorities said had wounded the officer with a knife while resisting arrest, Police Chief John Patterson said Wednesday.
Cellphone footage of the Madison police shooting began spreading on social media soon after the confrontation. In the video, three gunshots can be heard.
Speaking at a news conference, Patterson cautioned that the widely shared video captured only one view of the encounter and should not be treated as the full account of what occurred.
“I want to take a moment to honestly and sincerely offer my heartfelt sympathies to his family for this loss,” Patterson said. The man who was killed was in his 30s, the chief said, but police had not released his name.
The shooting took place on a city street in a well-known Madison neighborhood filled with restaurants, bars, shops and homes, less than two miles from the Wisconsin State Capitol. Video from the scene shows several vehicles stopped at an intersection as bystanders watched the incident unfold.
The same street was the site of another fatal police shooting in 2015, when a white officer shot and killed Tony Robinson, who was biracial. That case sparked major protests in Madison. Prosecutors ultimately declined to charge the officer, concluding the shooting was justified.
Madison police did not release the race of the officer who fired Wednesday or the race of the man who died. However, Black community advocates in Madison said the man killed was Black.
“Another Black man is dead on a Madison street, and our community watched him die before we even knew his name,” said Brandi Grayson, who leads Urban Triage, a Madison-based Black community advocacy organization. “That is the cruelty of state violence.”
A crowd formed near where the shooting occurred on Wednesday with people chanting, “Arrest the cops!”
They placed flowers and candles where the man was shot and held a vigil.
Protesters also marched to the Wisconsin State Capitol and took the stage at a summer concert series, demanding the name of the officer and that he be held accountable. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra announced on social media the show was canceled.
Police were responding to calls that someone was attempting to enter parked vehicles in the neighborhood, Patterson said. The suspect fled on a bike through nearby backyards in an attempt to get away before officers contacted him in the street, Patterson said.
The suspect either fell off of his bike or was taken off of his bike by officers and during the struggle pulled out a knife and injured an officer, Patterson said. Police posted a picture of the knife in a news release.
An officer deployed a taser but it was unsuccessful, the chief said. The same officer who was injured by the knife fired his weapon and the man who was shot died later at the hospital, the chief said. He described the officer who fired his weapon as a veteran officer, but did not reveal any other details.
Another officer was injured, but it is not clear how, Patterson said. The other two officers were uninjured.
The Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting because it involves police officers. The four responding officers will be placed on administrative leave, per the police department’s policy.
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