Fatal shooting of black teenager by white US police sparks protests

The fatal shooting of an unarmed African American teenager by a white police officer in the US city of Madison has prompted protests against police brutality and racial discrimination.

Officer Matt Kenny, 45, shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday night. He died at a hospital. Madison’s police Chief Mike Koval acknowledged that the teenager was unarmed.

A large number of Americans staged a demonstration on Saturday to protest against the deadly incident, amid growing anger among people of color against the predominantly white law enforcement agencies.

The protesters marched from the Madison police headquarters to the neighborhood where the unarmed teenager was shot and killed by the officer, who was also involved in a 2007 shooting.

The demonstrators were chanting “the whole damn system is guilty as hell,” and many people were carrying signs that read, “Black Lives Matter” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”.

A similar demonstration was also held in the city on Friday night after the deadly shooting.

Police brutality as well as the racial profiling of minorities by US law enforcement agencies has become a major concern in the United States.

The killing of several unarmed black men by white police officers in recent months and decisions by grand juries not to indict the officers triggered large-scale protests across the US.

There is also widespread racial disparity in the US criminal justice system. According to a study by the Sentencing Project research group, one in three black males are likely to be sentenced to prison sometime during their life. The figure for white men is one in 17.

In addition, a recent poll found a significant distrust of police in the United States, where many Americans believe police target minorities unfairly and often lie for their own interests.

Addressing a commemorative ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama on Saturday, US President Barack Obama said America’s racial history still casts a shadow.

“We just need to open our eyes, and ears, and hearts, to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us,” Obama said.

“We know the march is not yet over, the race is not yet won, and that reaching that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character – requires admitting as much,” he added.