City of Madison, officer ask judge to toss federal shooting lawsuit

MADISON — The City of Madison and a police officer who killed an unarmed biracial man this spring have asked a judge to toss the man's mother's civil lawsuit.

Matt Kenny shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson in an apartment house stairwell in March. Investigators said Robinson was high on mushrooms and attacked Kenny. Prosecutors cleared Kenny of any criminal wrongdoing and an internal investigation found he didn't violate any policies.

Robinson's mother filed a federal lawsuit in August alleging Kenny violated Robinson's constitutional rights and the city doesn't adequately train its police.

The city filed a reply on Monday demanding the lawsuit be dismissed, arguing Robinson's death resulted from his own actions. Kenny filed a reply on Friday making the same request on the same grounds.