On August 5, 2016, Jamarion Rashad Robinson, a 26-year-old African American man who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was shot 59 times and killed in a police raid in East Point, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The shooting occurred when at least 14 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. The officers were heavily armed, including with submachine guns. The warrant was being served on behalf of the Gwinnett County police and the Atlanta Police Department, and authorities said they had sought his arrest for attempted arson and aggravated assault of a police officer. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon and that officers who had been involved in the shooting reported Robinson fired at them three times.
The case has been highlighted as an example of excessive force by law enforcement officers, systemic racism in law enforcement, a lack of knowledge in police who interact with people who have a mental illness, a lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the actions of police officers, and a lack of use of body cameras by police and U.S. Marshals when serving arrest warrants.
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 felony murder, burglary, aggravated assault and making false statements in connection with the shooting.
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. 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.
He had no criminal record other than a series of misdemeanor traffic violations in the previous two years. His family said they believe the police were seeking him due to mistaking him for someone else. Police showed a photo of the man they were seeking to his grandmother, and she said "That's not my grandson."
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. Police have said they were serving a warrant for Robinson's arrest on charges of attempted arson and aggravated assault of a police officer. Robinson was staying with his girlfriend at the time of the incident, and lived with his mother in Lawrenceville. Police claimed they opened fire after Robinson refused to exit his girlfriend's apartment and was seen with a gun in his hand. A cellphone video that included the sounds of the shooting was recorded by a resident standing near the apartment. The shooting continued for nearly three minutes. Police stated that Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon and had fired at them three times.
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. 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. 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.