Question 1

Who was Justin Robinson?

Accepted Answer

Justin Robinson was a Southeast Washington resident who was employed as a violence interrupter with D.C.’s Cure the Streets program. He worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens, which is contracted by the D.C. attorney general’s office to quell conflicts between crews in several D.C. neighborhoods. These programs frequently employ people who are formerly incarcerated or who were once involved in perpetuating violence. Hundreds of people gathered at a vigil in Robinson’s honor on Friday, days before the release of the body-camera footage of his killing. Family and friends there remembered him as someone who cared about his community and was excited to work as a violence interrupter. Robinson’s mother remembered him as a mediator who intervened in conflicts at school as a kid. She urged supporters to protest his killing peacefully, as she said he would have wanted.

Question 2

How did he die?

Accepted Answer

Robinson was fatally shot by two police officers in the early morning of Sept. 1. Police first encountered him when they responded to a vehicle that had crashed into the McDonald’s on the 2500 block of Marion Barry Avenue SE. When officers arrived at the scene, Robinson lay unresponsive in the vehicle, with what appeared to be a gun in his lap.

Question 3

What does the body-camera footage show?

Accepted Answer

The footage released by the police department — two 18-to-19-minute videos from the body cameras of the officers who fired their weapons, along with a shorter edited video produced by the department — shows police approaching the car and then strategizing how to remove Robinson from it. They can be heard deciding to box in the vehicle by parking police cars in front of and behind it. Officers can then be heard discussing potential next steps, including reaching through an open back window to unlock the front door so officers could grab the gun on Robinson’s lap. Some officers discussed using a ballistic shield to block any gunfire. Police officials told reporters at a news briefing Monday night that one option would have been to declare a barricade situation, which would have triggered the arrival of emergency response team officers with specific training. While officers were discussing what to do, they appeared to notice Robinson stirring, the footage shows. “I got movement,” one of them can be heard saying. Officers approached the car, yelling at Robinson to keep his hands off his gun and then screaming at him to put his hands up. Robinson rolled his window partially down, and one officer — identified by police officials as Bryan Gilchrist — pointed his gun through the window toward Robinson. Robinson reached his hand toward Gilchrist’s weapon. Police officials say Robinson grabbed Gilchrist’s gun. “I’ll shoot you in your [expletive] face,” Gilchrist said. He fired 10 shots at Robinson, according to police officials, and another officer identified as Vasco Mateus fired one shot. Video from one of the officer’s body cameras appears to show a gun dropping onto Robinson’s lap as shots are fired. Police officials identified that gun as Robinson’s and said it fell from his hand.

Question 4

What happened to the police officers?

Accepted Answer

Gilchrist and Mateus have been placed on paid administrative leave as the office of the U.S. attorney for D.C. investigates the shooting.

Question 5

What happened after the footage was released?

Accepted Answer

The video footage has sparked outrage among some District residents, who say police should have de-escalated the situation without firing their weapons. Police officials have declined to say whether the tactics that the officers used were appropriate, citing an ongoing investigation. Brandon Burrell, an attorney representing Robinson’s family, said after the release of the footage that he does not believe Robinson tried to grab the officer’s gun but instead had a natural reaction to a gun being shoved in his face. “He woke up to a firearm inches from his face. He had a natural inclination to move the firearm away,” Burrell wrote in a text message Tuesday morning. “MPD officers began discharging their weapons and continue to fire upon Justin even after they backed up out of his reach. What happened to Justin was not de-escalation, it wasn’t proportional and it wasn’t reasonable. It was brutality.”

Question 6

What happens next?

Accepted Answer

The office of the U.S. attorney for D.C., which is in charge of prosecuting local crimes, independently reviews all fatal shootings by D.C. police. Once that office determines whether to pursue criminal charges against involved officers, D.C. police will proceed with their own internal investigation of the shooting to evaluate any disciplinary actions.

What we know about Justin Robinson’s death and the D.C. police shooting video

D.C. police fatally shot Justin Robinson, 26, earlier this month at a McDonald’s in Southeast Washington.