A week after police shot and killed a man outside a McDonald’s in Southeast D.C., authorities have released body camera video footage of the shooting.
Justin Robinson, 26, a D.C. man who worked with violence interruption programs in the District, was fatally shot by two police officers last weekend, when he was found unresponsive after crashing into the restaurant.
The release of the body camera footage came after Robinson’s family allowed authorities to release the footage, reversing their initial decision against making it public.
“Any loss of life is a tragic outcome for the family and for our community,” said D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith on Monday evening during a news conference.
The shooting happened around 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 1 after police were called to the scene of crash at the McDonald’s on Marion Barry Avenue in Southeast D.C.
When officers arrived, they cleared the area of any bystanders, used police vehicles to box in Robinson’s vehicle and were coming up with a plan for how to respond while he was still unresponsive, Smith said. Police said a firearm was also seen in the car on Robinson’s lap.
In the two body camera videos released Monday, Robinson can be seen lowering the driver side window partially as officers surrounded his vehicle. One of the officers can be seen sticking a service weapon through the partially opened window while still shouting demands at Robinson to not touch his weapon and to raise his hands.
Smith said the video shows one of the officers with his gun in the front driver’s side window pointed at Robinson, who reaches up.
“He’s grabbing the officer’s weapon,” Smith said. “There is an exchange of words and the officer … discharges his weapon.”
She said the video then shows Robinson’s gun dropping from his left hand onto his lap.
Two officers fired about a dozen shots at Robinson.
The shooting is under investigation by the department’s Force Investigation Team, which investigates police shootings. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. will also review the case to determine if any laws were broken and the department’s internal affairs division will determine if the officers violated any policies.
“It’s also tough on the community,” Smith said. “It is risky, and it is serious. It is a dangerous situation, for everyone.”
‘The public needs to be aware’
Robinson worked with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General’s “Cure the Streets” violence interruption program.
“The (violence interruption) programs have been, certainly, instrumental in helping us mediate issues,” Smith said on Wednesday.
In a statement from the Robinson’s family lawyers, Brandon Burrell and Justin Holliman of the Hollimon Firm, they said, “The family was initially concerned with the possibility of an edited or redacted version being released. However, we are cautiously optimistic that the video that is released will show what occurred.”
Family members had a initially indicated that they did not want the footage released, but later changed their mind.
“The family believes in full transparency. The public needs to be aware and see with their own eyes what happened to Justin,” Hollimon told WTOP.
Robinson’s sister, along with D.C. activist Nee Nee Taylor, were quoted in The Washington Post after viewing the video, saying that they thought D.C. police could have de-escalated the situation.
“Mr. Robinson was aggressively woken up to a gun pointed in his face by DC officers. His startled reaction did not give the officers the legal authority to kill him,” Hollimon added.
At a candlelit vigil held Friday evening by Black Lives Matter and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, other community organizers from around D.C. showed up to pay their respects. Many speakers talked about how Robinson made it his business to de-escalate violent situations and preach peace.
The officers who fired at Robinson have been placed on administrative leave. The incident is under review by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
WTOP’s Jack Moore, Ana Golden and Matt Kaufax contributed to this report.
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