MADISON, Wis. — Hours after an officer with the Wisconsin Department of Justice was charged for his role in the shooting of Quadren Wilson on Madison’s northeast side earlier this year, Wilson’s family and supporters said they consider the charge a step toward justice but not far enough.
Mark Wagner, an officer with the state justice department’s Division of Criminal Investigation, faces one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety in the Feb. 3 incident. Another DCI agent who also fired his gun, Nathan Peskie, has not been charged.
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“This should have never happened. Period,” Wilson’s father Nora Morris told News 3 Now outside the Dane County Courthouse Thursday afternoon.
“Even though this is some semblance of a victory, it’s not a victory as a whole,” activist King Rick said.
Wilson’s shooting drew protests, marches, and rallies. Those largely fizzled out as the investigation dragged on over months.
Wilson’s father said he hopes the charge against Wagner is the beginning of holding more people accountable for February’s events.
“It’s just starting,” Rick said. “There’s a lot to know and a lot to learn so it never happens to any individual anymore.”
WATCH: Video released of arrest, aftermath of police shooting of Quadren Wilson
They say what’s happened to their son and their whole family has put everything on pause.
“He’s been put on hold since everything happened,” Morris said. “Since he got shot, in the hospital, in prison, in jail, and that’s just the way it’s been.”
Wilson has both been recovering in custody and will stay there for a while.
In May, Wilson was sentenced to three years in prison for unrelated drug charges.
Meanwhile, his family says they are left sitting with their own pain, too.
“Everybody’s on paid leave for all this time, and we’ve suffered all this time,” Morris said. “We’re still suffering.”
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