Southeast DC

No charges for DC officers in fatal shooting of violence interrupter

Two Metropolitan Police Department officers shot and killed Justin Robinson on Sept. 1 after he crashed into a McDonald’s, refused to drop a gun and then grabbed an officer’s gun, police said. He was 25.

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A protest was held around a police station in Southeast D.C. after the police shooting of a D.C. violence interrupter.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia won't pursue federal criminal civil rights or D.C. charges against two D.C. officers in the fatal September shooting of a violence interrupter in Southeast.

Two Metropolitan Police Department officers shot and killed Justin Robinson on Sept. 1 after he crashed into a McDonald’s, refused to drop a gun and then grabbed an officer’s gun, police said. He was 25.

"After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the MPD Officers were criminally liable for Mr. Robinson’s death,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

Officers said they received the call to the 2500 block of Marion Barry Avenue SE at about 5:30 a.m. earlier that morning. Robinson had sat in the McDonald’s drive-thru for about an hour before the car moved forward and crashed into the building, police said.

Police saw a gun in Robinson's lap, and he woke up while officers were developing a plan to remove the firearm. Officers screamed at him to put his hands up and not touch the gun. As an officer reached into the car and attempted to retrieve the gun, Robinson refused to surrender control of it and grabbed an officer’s firearm, the release states.

Police instructed Robinson to take his hand off the gun, but after continued struggle, two officers fired a total 11 rounds at him, the release states. D.C. Fire and EMS immediately started to resuscitate him after officers got his gun and removed him from the vehicle, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and MPD’s Internal Affairs Division conducted a “comprehensive” review of the shooting, the release said. The investigation assessed physical evidence, surveillance video footage, body-worn camera footage, audio and visual recordings from nearby video cameras, witness accounts, autopsy records, and local police reports.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office investigates allegations of excessive force from law enforcement officers, and MPD’s Internal Affairs Division investigates all police-involved fatalities in D.C.

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