WASHINGTON — On the steps of the Department of Justice Monday, one name rang out: Justin Robinson.
Robinson's family gathered in front of the agency’s building to make sure his name was heard. He was killed on Sept. 1 after DC Police found him unresponsive in a car in a Mcdonald's drive thru on Marion Barry Avenue in Southeast.
Police bodycam footage appears to show one officer pressing his gun against Robinson’s window. Robinson appears to grab one of the officer's guns before two officers fired 11 shots into the car.
The Robinson family is now calling for the Department of Justice to launch a civil rights investigation into the officers.
“We’re also calling for the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the entire Metropolitan Police Department, because this has to stop,” says Andrew O. Clarke, one of the Robinson family’s attorneys. “There’s no way that this is protocol, and if it is, that’s a problem.”
Robinson worked as a violence interrupter for Cure the Streets and focused on preventing gun violence through meditation. According to the family’s attorneys, Robinson’s death sent a clear message to the community.
“If someone who’s doing the work of the Attorney General’s office for us, and for our community to end gun violence, or to prevent it, can become a victim of it, then no one, and I mean absolutely no one is off-limits. Well no one who looks like Jusin is off-limits,” says Jade Mathis, one of the Robinson family’s attorneys.
Now as community activists call for justice, those closest to Robinson are still trying to come to grips with his passing.
“He was a beacon of light, and he will truly be missed,” he mother said through tears.
MPD says the incident remains under investigation, and the entire case will be independently reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office.