The surviving roommate of Tony Terrell Robinson Jr., a 19-year-old who last month was shot and killed by police, is facing eviction following a $1,192.15 bill for “bio-hazard cleanup” in removing Robinson’s blood from the apartment.
Anthony M. Limon, the roommate, received the notice that said he had five days to pay the bill as well as his three days-overdue rent before he would be evicted.
The landlord, Ray A. Peterson, defended his actions, saying that he could bill Limon because Robinson’s name was not on the lease. He said he was trying to avoid non-discrimination laws. “If we gave them special privileges, it could be a real discrimination problem,” he explained. “In order to stay in business we have to treat the laws equally and all lessees equally.”
But Brenda K. Konkel, the executive director of the Madison-based Tenant Resource Center, says that explanation doesn’t quite hold up. “There is no law like that,” she said, noting that “he has to treat everyone the same in similar circumstances,” so the only discrimination issue that would come up would be if someone else was shot and the situation was treated differently, and if that shooting victim was of a different background than Robinson.
Tony Robinson died in early March after Officer Matt Kenny forced his was inside the apartment after hearing a disturbance while responding to a call. Robinson was shot after a confrontation with Kenny. Robinson, who was unarmed, died at the hospital.
#BlackLivesMatter protests erupted on the streets of Madison after the killing. Kenny also shot and killed a suspect in 2007 but was cleared of any wrongdoing. He’s been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.