Fulton DA sues feds for rcords in police shooting

Jamarion Robinson was shot 59 times in 2016 at an East Point apartment.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said his office will file a lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Justice amid an investigation over the controversial police shooting of 26-yearold Jamarion Robinson, who was shot 59 times in 2016.

The DA alleges the department failed to provide information related to the Aug. 5, 2016, shooting, which involved a fugitive task force made up of various metro Atlanta officers and at least one U.S. marshal. It happened at an apartment in East Point where Robinson’s girlfriend lived. A Fulton grand jury has also issued sub- poenas for the information and for those who were on the shooting scene to appear for a hearing Feb. 5, Howard’s office said.

Howard plans to release more information today.

The shooting of Robinson, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has long been controversial.

Authorities have said they were trying to arrest him on a warrant for allegedly firing a gun at officers in a previous encounter. But a previous federal lawsuit filed on behalf of his mother, Monteria Robinson, in January said he posed no threat

at the time of his death.

That complaint accused police of knocking at the apartment door, then immediately breaking it down and “spraying” with 9 mm and .40 mm submachine guns, and .40 mm Glock pistols. The suit also alleged that the marshal or marshals involved with the task force tampered with evidence by handcuffing Robinson after he was dead and throwing a flash grenade into the apartment to cover up evidence.

The mother’s suit is against various local governments and 11 officers. It remains the subject of grappling in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, where attorneys for the defendants have been arguing against it and trying to get it thrown out.

Fulton County DA Paul Howard will file a suit against U.S. Department of Justice.