The family of a man who was shot and killed by police outside a McDonald’s in Southeast D.C. earliest this month is calling for the U.S. Justice Department to launch a civil rights investigation into his killing. The relatives of Justin Robinson believe police didn’t do enough to de-escalate the situation before opening fire on the 26-year-old who worked as a violence interrupter in the city.
“This was somebody that had a bright future, and, unfortunately, due to the aggressive actions of MPD officers, that life has been tragically cut short,” said Andrew O. Clarke, an attorney for the family.
At 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, police found Robinson unconscious in his car with a gun on his lap, after he had crashed into the fast-food restaurant at 2529 Good Hope Road.
Police body camera footage appears to show officers coming up to the car as Robinson began to wake up. Robinson could be seen partially lowering the driver’s side window as officers surrounded the vehicle. That was followed by officers sticking their service weapons into the open window and demanding that Robinson raise his hands and not touch his weapon.
Last week, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the video showed Robinson grabbing an officer’s gun before officers opened fire, killing Robinson. Smith also said the video shows Robinson’s gun falling from his left hand.
“The police are saying that they saw a gun in his lap, but how do you justify then placing a firearm within inches of somebody’s face that was just unconscious and is coming to consciousness at that time, and they really have not been able to explain that part of it,” Clarke said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the office, as well as the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is aware of the “circumstances surrounding the tragic shooting of Justin Robinson.”
“If evidence reveals potential violations of federal criminal statutes, the Justice Department will take appropriate action,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement to WTOP.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the case remains under investigation.
“The entire case will be independently reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office,” the department said in an email.
The officers involved are on paid administrative leave.
Robinson’s family reacts
Robinson’s sister Tralicia Robinson remembered her brother as a “bubbly individual” who cherished his job with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General’s “Cure the Streets” program.
Robinson had a criminal past, but his sister said he had turned his life around and wanted to help others not make the same mistakes he did.
“Helping people was his passion,” she said.
Tralicia recalled getting a call from Justin’s twin brother while kayaking. She recalled thinking her brother was calling to see her on the water with his niece, but instead, she said through tears, he told her what had happened.
“I just remember paddling back to shore, breaking down. My knees were buckling. They were collapsing,” she told WTOP.
His sister said days later, she saw the body camera footage before it was released to the public and what she saw left her outraged.
“I thought poor tactics. I was furious, I was sad. I was confused. Now, I was stuck with a thought of, ‘I can’t believe that this happened to Justin,'” she said.
The loss of her brother, she said, has not only shaken their family, but the community as well.
“It left pain. You have some people again who are outraged. You have some people who feel unprotected. You have so many people asking, Where do we go from here? It just left the community in shock,” Tralicia said.
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