A man who worked as a violence interrupter was shot and killed by D.C. officers early Sunday after police say he crashed into a McDonald’s in Southeast, refused to drop a gun and then grabbed an officer’s gun.
Justin Robinson, of Southeast, was killed. He was 26.
Robinson worked as a violence interrupter with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General and the Cure the Streets program, the office said.
Protesters blocked traffic outside the Seventh District police station a day after the killing.
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The Metropolitan Police Department says officers were called to the McDonald’s in the 2500 block of Marion Barry Avenue SE, in the Skyland area, at about 5:30 a.m. Officers saw that a driver had hit the side of the fast-food restaurant, causing minor damage, police said.
A witness told News4 that at least two drivers were unconscious in the drive-thru and holding up the line. He said he knocked on their windows to try to wake them, to no avail. He said he left the parking lot but continued to watch from nearby and record on his cellphone as police converged on the area.
Police say Robinson was unresponsive and officers could see a gun in his lap. Officers called for backup, Robinson started moving and he grabbed his gun, Chief of Police Pamela Smith said Sunday morning.
“He had his weapon in his hand, he was told to drop the weapon, our officers extended their firearm, and the suspect grabbed his weapon at that time,” Smith said.
A written statement from police released Monday said, “As the officers approached the suspect with their service weapons drawn, the suspect grabbed one of the officer’s service weapons.”
Two officers opened fire, hitting Robinson.
“Oh! Oh! Shots! Shots! Oh! Oh!” the witness can be heard shouting on cellphone video.
DC Fire and EMS immediately began treating Robinson, but he died.
Police shared a photo of what they say was Robinson’s handgun.
The officers who opened fire were placed on administrative leave, per MPD policy. Body-worn camera footage will be released in line with D.C. law.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
Robinson pleaded guilty to a charge of assault with intent to kill in 2018 and was sentenced to five years in prison, according to court records. He was released in January 2022.
“I’m very, very saddened by the death of Mr. Robinson,” Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. “As I said, I want to let the facts play out, the investigation determine what actually happened. But here’s the reality: A lot of people doing this work of violence interruption work in our city, they have been convicted of crimes in the past. They have done their time, they have done their penance and now they are looking for ways to make their city better.”
Schwalb said Cure the Streets is driving down crime in the city.
“We look geographically at where historic crime has occurred before the Cure the Streets sites came into play,” he said. “We look at it over time, chronologically, and we can measure the number of shootings, the number of fatalities. We also measure the number of mediations and agreements and community events that are being created in those communities, because it’s not just disrupting the cycle of violence. It’s then building relationships.”
In her remarks on Sunday, the police chief pointed to the hazards that officers encounter.
“This is just another reminder of the daily dangers that our officers face protecting the residents and visitors across the District of Columbia,” she said.
The police shooting occurred four days after Investigator Wayne David was fatally shot as he tried to retrieve a gun that a suspect was seen stashing in a storm drain.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
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