LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The mother of Jamarion Robinson filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against the officers she believes were involved in his death, accusing them of using excessive force and then trying to cover it up.
Standing outside the federal courthouse she said for the first time in nearly a year and a half, she felt some sense of relief.
Jamarion Robinson, 26, was shot 76 times by a US Marshals task force in August, 2016 while serving several warrant out for his arrest on behalf of Gwinnett and Atlanta PD.
"Today is a sad day. We shouldn't be here. But we're here with the family of Jamarion Robinson. We're also here with several community groups and activists and people who care about this issue and what happened to this family," Andrew Stroth said.
Andrew Stroth, a civil rights attorney with the Action Injury Law Group in Chicago, along with William Claiborne of the the Claiborne Firm in Savannah, Ga., will be assisting Robinson in her son's case.
The lawsuit names team members from seven different agencies: Atlanta Police Officer William Sauls, and Detectives Steve Schreckengost and Steve O'Hare. Det. Daniel Doyle with the Fulton County Police Department, Det. Kristopher Hutchens with the Clayton County Police Department, Daniel Durand, a medic with the Clayton County Fire Dept., Joshua Mauney with the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, Inspector Eric Heinze with the US Marshals Service, a John Doe police officer and ten different unknown officers with the East Point Police Dept.
11Alive has been unable to independently confirm that these officers were at the scene, but according to Georgia's Peace Officer Standards and Training Council which tracks employment and training certifications, all but one of the named law enforcement personnel started serving on a US Marshal Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce in June of 2014.
According to the lawsuit police knew Robinson had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had not been taking his medication. When the team knocked on his girlfriend's door and Robinson failed to answer, they broke down the door and entered, firing submachine guns and pistols.
"They waged a military operation against a kid who suffered some mental challenges but posed absolutely no threat to these officers," argued Stroth.
The lawsuit alleges two 9mm bullets were fired straight over Robinson's body and a flash bang grenade was used to confuse the crime scene. The family questions why, after so many bullets fired, police still felt the need to handcuff Robinson behind his back and drag him from the seconf floor landing to the living room. Robinson was also found by the medical examiner, wearing an oxygen re-breathing mask.
"No one has taken responsibility for this terroristic act against my child. Please do not ignore my plea because I am just another black mother suffering through what has become far too common in occurrence for black families here in this nation," said Monteria Robinson.
"It is my objective to make sure that everyone knows what happened to my son, Jamarion Robinson."
Robinson also shared that a forensic pathologist that worked in her son's case revealed that Jamarion had been shot several times in both his right and left palms.
"So you tell me, how a person is holding a weapon."
