MADISON, wis. — Friends and family remembered a 19-year-old biracial Wisconsin man fatally shot by police as a friendly, funny person who liked to play basketball, and said on Saturday they hoped his death would bring change that might prevent other young men of color from suffering the same fate.
Tony Robinson, also known as Terrell, died March 6 after what Madison police said was a confrontation in which he assaulted Officer Matt Kenny.
At least 1,000 people packed a Wisconsin high school field house and spilled into a secondary gym Saturday for Robinson’s funeral. A few mourners wore T-shirts saying “Black Lives Matter,” the motto of a protest movement which grew after the Ferguson, Mo., killing. People who brought signs to the funeral were politely told to put them away.
“It’s up to us to support Terrell’s vision of immortality … through our commitment to ensure that another senseless and violent murder like this doesn’t happen,” said the Rev. David Hart, who led the memorial.
