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A man was shot and killed in a struggle with police officers Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, after officials say he pulled out a knife and injured an officer – a confrontation that has sparked outcry from protesters in a city that has previously been rocked by anger over police-involved shootings.
The man killed was in his 30s, according to Madison Police Chief John Patterson, and his name has not been released. The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is reviewing the shooting, which happened less than two miles from the state Capitol.
“There must be transparency and accountability in any investigation moving forward,” Democratic Gov. Tony Evers posted to Facebook. “We will continue to keep the loved ones and family of the individual who was killed in our hearts and prayers. His life mattered.”
Shooting captured on video as police urge patience
Like many deadly police-involved shootings in the past, questions around the shooting center on how much of a threat the officer faced, the lack of body-worn cameras and what can be seen in a bystander video.
Police discovered the man while responding to a report of a person checking parked vehicles Wednesday afternoon, Patterson said during a news conference Wednesday.
Officers tried to make contact with him, but he fled on his bicycle through nearby backyards, according to police.
When they caught up to him later near the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets on the city’s Near East Side, “a physical struggle ensued,” Patterson said. The man pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured one officer, described as a “veteran officer,” who was trying to arrest him, the chief added.
“This was not a small, folding knife,” Patterson said. “It’s a large, fixed-blade knife.”
Bystander video filmed from a nearby car shows officers on the ground at an intersection, struggling with a man who is then pulled up to his feet. One officer can be heard yelling, “He’s got a knife,” while another yells “Taser! Taser! Taser,” deploying it as a police cruiser quickly pulls up. As the man begins to fall back to the ground and has his legs pinned by an officer’s foot, another officer appears to pull a gun, and three shots are heard. The officer who had drawn the Taser holds her hand to her mouth as she backs away.
It is not clear what happened before the video began and authorities are investigating whether the man fell from his bicycle or was physically removed by officers, Patterson said.
“I encourage people to watch the video,” Michael Doubek, a witness who recorded it, told CNN affiliate WISC, saying he saw the man shot in the head. “I think it’s a pretty horrifying look at what happened.
Patterson said he had seen the bystander video, saying it “is a perspective of what occurred.”
“I caution everyone, this is one perspective. It is not a full overview of everything that was visible from different angles, certainly visible from the officers,” he said.
A second officer was injured in the incident, though Patterson said it’s unclear how the injury occurred. He added authorities don’t believe the injury was caused by the man’s knife.
None of the officers involved was wearing a body camera, according to the police chief, adding the department does not have “any broad deployment of body cameras in Madison, unfortunately.”
Last month, Patterson publicly called for city funding for body-worn cameras, CNN affiliate WKOW reported. The Wisconsin Professional Police Association agreed, with executive director Jim Palmer telling the station, “Without body-worn camera footage, it is simply too easy for an incident to become the subject of competing narratives, conflicting accounts and unnecessary speculation.”
The Division of Criminal Investigation will review all footage posted online or submitted directly to the agency to assess the situation.
All four officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation, Patterson said.
CNN reached out to the Madison Police Department for additional information and was referred back to an incident report.
City has history of controversial shootings
Patterson acknowledged the shooting “occurred in a neighborhood that has experienced a lot of trauma in the past.”
On the same street in 2015, a White police officer shot and killed an unarmed, biracial 19-year-old, Tony Robinson, leading to major protests. Three years before that, Paul Heenan, a 30-year-old White musician, was shot to death after mistakenly entering the wrong house and scuffling with police who responded.
In both cases, the shooting officer’s actions were found to be justified. The city paid Robinson’s and Heenan’s families a total of $5.65 million in settlements, Robinson’s attorneys said.
The race of the victim and the officer from Wednesday’s shooting have not been disclosed.
Black community and social activist groups have condemned the latest killing, as peaceful protesters gathered Wednesday in Madison, chanting “No justice, no peace.” A scheduled orchestral concert in front of the state Capitol was abruptly cancelled, WKOW reported.
“I understand the anger, grief, and fear people are feeling — because I am feeling that too. As a city, as a community, as a society, we need to do better,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway wrote in a statement expressing her condolences. “Any officer-involved shooting needs to be rigorously investigated, and this one will be. While we do not yet know all the details, our community deserves full transparency and accountability.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Jillian Sykes, Amanda Jackson, Jennifer Feldman and Chuck Johnston contributed to this report.
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