U.S. Marshal and Georgia Officer Indicted in Shooting Death of Jamarion Robinson

Two officers were indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday for the death of 26 year-old Jamarion Robinson, a Black man who was shot 76 times during a raid on his girlfriend’s apartment in East Point, Ga., back in 2016.

Eric Heinze, the assistant chief inspector of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and Kristopher L. Hutchens, a Clayton County police officer on the task force, were indicted on counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary, making false statements and violation of oath by a public officer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The case was brought before the Fulton County grand jury on Monday, after several delays (one being the coronavirus pandemic). The indictment comes after a long tenuous investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who took over the investigation from her predecessor Paul Howard. Howard accused federal authorities of being uncooperative with his office in 2018. 

Here’s what happened during the raid, from 11 Alive:

On August 5, 2016, U.S. Marshals attempted to arrest Jamarion in East Point at the request of Gwinnett and Atlanta Police on warrants from two separate incidents.

Cell phone video from outside the apartment where the shooting took place captured nearly three minutes of gunfire.

There is no body-camera video of the shooting though because, at the time, federal policies didn’t allow for U.S. Marshals or local police officers assisting them to wear body cameras.

The officers had two warrants to serve Robinson, who had no prior convictions. The first warrant was for another altercation with police during which he pulled a gun on officers and ran. The second was issued after his mother called the police because he was pouring gasoline in her house.

According to USA Today, Robinson was diagnosed with schizophrenia only months before his death.

A cell phone video captured the shooting and officers could be heard yelling commands to put a gun down in the footage. A medical examiner’s report said Robinson was shot 59 times and had 76 bullet wounds, USA Today notes.

More from USA Today:

“Over 90 rounds were fired at my son, flash-bang grenades were thrown at him, landed on him burning him,” Robinson’s mother, Monteria Robinson, said at a news conference in June 2020. “Somebody walked up the stairs, stood over him, and shot down into his body two more times. After that, he was handcuffed and drug down a flight of stairs.”

Robinson’s family has accused the officers involved of using excessive force. In a 2018 lawsuit, his mother claimed law enforcement had been made aware of his mental health condition and was not properly trained on how to handle it in an arrest.

“My son’s body is all the body cam you need,” Robinson’s mother said, according to the Journal-Constitution. “I wake up every day with anxiety. I’ve been in fight mode ever since my son was killed. I want closure.”