All Wisconsin governor candidates call for independent investigation into fatal Madison police shooting

MADISON, Wis. (Gray) - Every candidate running for Wisconsin governor has called for an independent investigation into the deadly Madison police shooting of a man on Williamson Street.

The man was shot and killed by Madison police after he was alleged to have pulled out a knife during a struggle with officers Wednesday. Less than three weeks before the primary, candidates across the field expressed concern over the loss of life and called for independent oversight of the incident.

State Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, the only candidate who attended a vigil for the man, demanded Madison police “immediately preserve and release all body camera footage” and called for an independent investigation.

None of the officers involved were wearing body cameras. Funding for the cameras was voted down by the city’s Common Council last year.

At the vigil Wednesday night, Hong called the man’s death an “execution” and “state-sanctioned violence.”

Meanwhile, Republican frontrunner U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany released a statement referencing Wisconsin Act 348.

“When I served in the state Legislature, we established the nation’s first statewide law requiring transparent, independent investigations of police-involved deaths,” Tiffany said. “We should allow that process to establish the facts without politicians rushing to judgment or stoking division.”

Tiffany was not one of the bill authors, nor was he on the committee that passed it. The bill passed with a voice vote, leaving no record of how individual lawmakers voted.

State Sen. Kelda Roys said in a statement, “We do not have to accept this as normal. There must be a full, independent investigation and the responsible officers held fully accountable.”

Joel Brennan said no family should have to wait for answers. “The Madison community deserves a full, transparent, and independent accounting of what happened,” Brennan said.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes called for the community to come together and said the investigation “must be independent and transparent.”

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he was “horrified” by the shooting and called for the investigation to be “thorough, transparent, and independent.”

Gov. Tony Evers also called for transparency and accountability in the investigation going forward.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is in the process of conducting that investigation.

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