Killing of Jamarion Robinson
Date | August 5, 2016 |
---|---|
Location | Felony murder , burglary, aggravated assault and making false statements |
On August 5, 2016, Jamarion Rashad Robinson, a 26-year-old
The case has been highlighted as an example of excessive force by law enforcement officers,[3][6] systemic racism in law enforcement,[7][8][9] a lack of knowledge in police who interact with people who have a mental illness,[6][10] a lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the actions of police officers,[8][11] and a lack of use of body cameras by police and U.S. Marshals when serving arrest warrants.[6]
A civil lawsuit has been pursued by the mother of Jamarion Robinson since 2018, and on October 27, 2021, U.S. Marshal Eric Heinze and Clayton County Police officer Kristopher Hutchens were criminally charged with
Background
Jamarion Robinson had been a biology student at Clark Atlanta University (CAU), and had been a running back on the football teams of CAU and Tuskegee University, but he had paused his education several years prior to the incident.[2][6] According to his mother, he was in the process of transferring to Tuskegee University and had texted her two days before the shooting to tell her he had just enrolled there for what would be his final semester.[13]
He had no criminal record other than a series of misdemeanor traffic violations in the previous two years.[2][6] His family said they believe the police were seeking him due to mistaking him for someone else.[13] Police showed a photo of the man they were seeking to his grandmother, and she said "That's not my grandson."[14]
Incident
On August 5, 2016, officers of a Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce from at least seven different agencies, led by U.S. Marshals, forcibly entered the apartment of Robinson's girlfriend to serve a warrant for his arrest.[3] Police have said they were serving a warrant for Robinson's arrest on charges of attempted arson and aggravated assault of a police officer.[5] Robinson was staying with his girlfriend at the time of the incident, and lived with his mother in Lawrenceville.[15] Police claimed they opened fire after Robinson refused to exit his girlfriend's apartment and was seen with a gun in his hand.[16] A cellphone video that included the sounds of the shooting was recorded by a resident standing near the apartment.[6][17] The shooting continued for nearly three minutes.[6][18] Police stated that Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon and had fired at them three times.[1]
A few weeks before the incident, his mother had called the police to try to get them to help him get mental health assistance. He had poured gasoline on the floor beneath his bed and in front of his mother's bedroom.[6] At the time, he also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for allegedly pointing a gun at officers before fleeing when he was confronted at the apartment complex of a friend.[6] His mother had told police about his recent diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, but they did not bring any mental health practitioners with them for the raid.[6]
According to an investigator hired by the family, the evidence showed that after killing Robinson, police handcuffed his hands behind his back, dragged his body down the stairs from the second floor to the living room on the lower level, and threw a
The medical report on Robinson's body listed 76 bullet wounds, 59 of which were identified as entry wounds and the other 17 as exit wounds.[4] None of the officers were injured in the incident.[4] None of the police officers involved in the shooting wore body cameras.[13]
Investigation
Bullets recovered at the scene included
On the day after the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) released a statement saying Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon before the shooting began.[2] A handgun was later recovered at the scene that the GBI said was "believed to be associated with Robinson",[2] and it was reported that officers who had been involved in the shooting said Robinson fired at them three times, but a lawsuit filed by the family said the handgun was actually damaged and was not operable.[2][4]
Lack of body camera use
The
Legal action
In January 2018, Robinson's family filed a lawsuit against the officers involved in the shooting, alleging that Robinson had not posed any immediate threat to the officers or others at the time of the shooting and that the officers violated Robinson's
District Attorney Paul Howard tried to investigate the shooting, but the U.S. Marshals Service did not cooperate with his investigation. On December 28, 2018, he filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to provide information about the case in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.[1][2] He said that federal authorities had prevented his prosecutors from interviewing the officers who were involved in the shooting and had refused to turn over any documents relating to the case.[2][4] According to his lawsuit filing, more than 90 rounds of ammunition had been fired into or within the apartment.[2]
In January 2019, after the Department of Justice raised procedural objections, Howard withdrew subpoenas to interview some of the officers involved in the shooting, which he said was in a "spirit of cooperation" with the agency.[4] In June 2020, Robinson's family said they had lost confidence in Howard's investigation.[needs update] Robinson's mother said "Paul Howard has failed my family and has not tried to indict the officers who murdered my son even though he's been promising me he's going to take action for nearly four years. ... I do not believe him at all!"[22]
Civil lawsuit
A civil lawsuit was filed in 2018 by Robinson's mother Monteria Robinson, alleging
Criminal proceedings
On October 27, 2021, a
Shortly after the indictment was filed, lawyers for Heinze and Hutchens requested that the trial be moved to a federal court due to the two defendants acting on behalf of a federal task force.
During pretrial motions for the criminal trial, the defense argued that charges against Heinze and Hutchens should be dismissed due to qualified immunity, whereas the prosecution argued that the search during which Robinson was shot was unconstitutional because a search warrant had not been obtained.[17] Lawyers for the defendants argued that a warrant was not required in the circumstances because the officers were aware that Robinson, a fugitive, was on the premises.
A hearing on the two officers' immunity claims concluded on June 22, 2023, with U.S. District Judge
Protest action
Robinson's death was highlighted by activists during the "National Day of Outrage" on October 28, 2019, along with the deaths of
The case was also highlighted during nationwide protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.[31]
One of the officers involved in the shooting had been arrested and charged with aggravated assault and property damage in June 2020 in an incident involving the tasing of two students as they sat in their car during a protest held around Atlanta University Center during the George Floyd–related protests.[32][33] This officer had also been involved in other previous cases of alleged excessive force, including the shooting death of an unarmed shop customer in the mid-1990s that resulted in a settlement of $1.4 million paid by the city and the shooting of another unarmed man in 2012.[32][34]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Barnes, Mo (December 28, 2018). "Atlanta DA forced to sue feds for info on U.S. Marshals who shot man 76 times". Rolling Out. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Martin, Jeff (December 28, 2018). "Prosecutor sues Justice Department over man shot 59 times". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Park, Catherine (January 10, 2018). "US Marshals task force accused of excessive force and cover up". WMAZ-TV. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Lindstrom, Rebecca; Basye, Lindsey (January 31, 2019). "DA withdraws subpoenas in death of man shot 76 times by officers". WXIA-TV. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b Weichselbaum, Simone (November 5, 2022). "Officers shot a Black man 59 times. Convicting a federal agent won't be easy". NBC News. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ )(Contains bystander video recording. Alternative archive )
- ^ a b Sturdivant, Nick (October 29, 2019). "Activists hold 'National Day of Outrage' to decry deadly encounters between African Americans, police". WXIA-TV. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c "The New Black Panther Party Atlanta Protest Against Police Brutality". The Global Purpose Approach. April 8, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via Medium.
- ^ a b "Planned AUC vigil for Jamarion Robinson causes controversy". Da'Shaun L. Harrison. March 18, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- CBS Atlanta.
- ^ "Mothers of children who died amid allegations of brutality speak out". WXIA-TV. June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Massie, Graeme (October 27, 2021). "Police charged in death of Black man shot 76 times in Atlanta". The Independent.
- ^ a b c Hill, Zahara (August 8, 2017). "Family Of College Student Shot 76 Times By Police Still Doesn't Know Why A Year Later". Ebony. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c Barnes, Mo (August 15, 2016). "Police shooting of former CAU student in Atlanta causes outrage". Rolling Out. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b Primus, Kiplyn (September 1, 2016). "The Local Take: Mother Alleges Police Overkill In Death of Former CAU Student Jamarion Robinson". WCLK. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- Fox Carolina. February 20, 2019. Archivedfrom the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Butler, Megan (June 5, 2023). "Federal judge to decide if Georgia officers who shot Black man 59 times immune to murder charges". Courthouse News.
- ^ Eldridge, Ellen (August 6, 2017). "One year later, mother asks why 76 bullets riddled son's body". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- Fox 5 Atlanta. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ better source needed]
- ^ a b c d e McGee, Madeline (January 10, 2018). "Family of man shot 76 times by police files lawsuit". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ Boone, Christian (June 5, 2020). "Sparks fly at final Fulton D.A. debate". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "Court of Appeals reverses district court decision in Jamarion Robinson case". NBC12. August 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Henke, Joe (October 29, 2021). "Death of Jamarion Robinson: Officers charged with murder seek to move case to federal court". 11Alive.
- ^ Vigdor, Neil (October 27, 2021). "2 Officers Are Charged With Murdering Man Who Was Shot Nearly 60 Times". The New York Times.
- ^ Weichselbaum, Simone (November 5, 2021). "Officers shot a Black man 59 times. Convicting a federal agent won't be easy". NBC News.
- ^ Nunez, Gabriella (November 30, 2021). "Fulton County DA files to keep Jamarion Robinson's accused killers' case in state court". 11Alive.
- Fox 5 Atlanta.
- ^ Nunez, Gabriella (November 2, 2022). "Death of Jamarion Robinson: Murder case moves to federal court". 11Alive.
- ^ Abusaid, Shaddi (June 23, 2023). "Prosecution, defense rest in fugitive task force murder case". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ Williams, Dorjan (June 15, 2020). "The City of East Point steps up for community Black Lives Matter protest and march". WXIA-TV. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Carr, Nicole (June 5, 2020). "APD officer charged in Tasing of students also tied to death of man shot 76 times by police". WSB-TV. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Jessen, Abby (June 14, 2020). "Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigns after shooting death of Rayshard Brooks". WGAU. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Schrade, Brad; Peebles, Jennifer (June 4, 2020). "APD cop in tasing incident faced earlier excessive force allegations". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 21, 2020.