Crowds rally after Wisconsin police shooting of biracial man

MADISON, Wis. (WLS) -- Demonstrators hit the streets in Madison, Wis., Wednesday to protest the decision not to charge a police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager.

A crowd of roughly 300 gathered outside the apartment where 19-year-old Tony Robinson was fatally shot in March. The crowd marched from the scene to the Dane County Courthouse.

"The exact same injustice you see going on in Chicago, it stems right here. There is no prosecution or if there is an indictment, you see people walk," said Nuri'yah Israel, a protestor from Chicago.

On the night of the shooting, witnesses - some of them friends of Robinson - called 911, claiming that Robinson was high on drugs and punching people. When the Madison Officer Matt Kenny arrived, he claims that Robinson turned on him. He said he feared that Robinson would take his gun. He fired his gun several times, fatally wounding Robinson.

Peaceful protests began after Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne announced Tuesday that he would not filed charges in the shooting.

Protest organizer Brandi Grayson insists fatal force wasn't necessary.

"We are a college city, there's plenty of white people that walk around high on shrooms, drunk out of their mind and they don't end up dead," Grayson said.

Grant Zimmerman lives across the street and heard the gunfire.

"It was way too much," Zimmerman said. "If I shoot you, I get charged, then I go to a jury of my peers and find out what happens. I don't understand why it didn't happen in this situation."

Outside the courthouse, protestors held what they called a "People's Court." They put the question to the crowd: Should the police officer be criminally charged? The overwhelming response was "yes."

"The district attorney's decision closes one chapter in this tragedy but it will not be the last word," said Madison Mayor Paul Soglin during a news conference Wednesday.