On January 13, 2019, George Robinson, a 62-year-old Black man, died two days after a violent arrest by three Black police officers in Jackson, Mississippi. According to a grand jury indictment, the officers pulled Robinson out of a car, threw him headfirst into the pavement, and struck and kicked him multiple times in the head and chest. Robinson was treated at the scene but within hours lost consciousness and later died at a hospital. The state coroner ruled the death a homicide.
| Date | January 13, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Location | Jackson, Mississippi, US |
| Suspects | Desmond Barney, Lincoln Lampley, and Anthony Fox |
| Charges | Second-degree murder |
After an internal Jackson Police Department investigation cleared the officers of wrongdoing, one of the officers continued working for the Jackson Police Department, and the other two were hired by a police department in a nearby town. Following the George Floyd protests a year later, as well as a lengthy grand jury review, all three officers were indicted for second-degree murder on August 5, 2020.
People involved
editGeorge Robinson was a 62-year-old Black man.[1][2][3]
Desmond Barney, 31 years old as of August 2020, Lincoln Lampley, 33, and Anthony Fox, 35, also Black,[1] were officers in the Jackson Police Department's K-9 unit at the time of the killing.[4] As of August 2020, Lampley is still an officer with the Jackson Police Department, and Barney and Fox are police officers in nearby Clinton, Mississippi.[1] Anthony Fox is not be confused with the two time top cop Eric B. Fox, who is a 24 year veteran of the Jackson Police Department.
Death
editAccording to prosecutors, on January 13, 2019, Barney, Lampley, and Fox were canvassing in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, looking for suspects in the fatal robbery of a pastor hours earlier.[1][2][3] The officers saw Robinson sitting in his car in front of his house[4] and approached him because they thought they had seen him dealing drugs earlier.[1] They ordered him to exit his vehicle, but Robinson, a stroke victim, was slow to comply.[1][3][4] According to the indictment, the officers pulled Robinson from his car, threw him headfirst onto the pavement, and struck and kicked him multiple times in the head and chest.[1][2][3] The responding ambulance treated Robinson at the scene and released him.[1] The officers arrested Robinson on misdemeanor charges of failing to obey a police officer and resisting arrest[3] before releasing him with instructions to appear at a future court date.[4] Within hours,[1] Robinson's girlfriend saw him losing consciousness and called for another ambulance.[3] Robinson died at a hospital on January 15.[1][3]
The state coroner ruled the death a homicide.[4] The coroner's report and other medical reports stated that Robinson died from blunt force trauma to the head and bleeding from the brain, and that he had several broken ribs.[1][2]
Two other men were later arrested for the pastor's murder.[4]
Prosecution
editThe three officers were placed on paid[1][4] administrative leave while the Jackson Police Department's internal affairs division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated, and were later reinstated.[2] After the Jackson Police Department's internal affairs division cleared the officers of wrongdoing and "multiple agencies looked into the incident and advised that no criminal conduct occurred", Barney and Fox were hired by the police department of nearby Clinton, Mississippi, according to Clinton's mayor.[1] Lampley continued to be employed by the Jackson Police Department.[1]
On August 5, 2020, all three officers were indicted for second-degree murder.[2] The three officers posted bond and were freed pending trial.[1] Lampley was placed on desk duty by the Jackson Police Department,[3] and Barney and Fox were "assigned other duties" at the Clinton Police Department.[1]
On May 20, 2021 all charges against Barney and Lampley were dismissed in a rare "directed verdict". The charges were dismissed with prejudice, an outcome welcomed by the Clinton Police Department.[5][6]
Robinson's family has filed a civil suit against the city, the three police officers, and the ambulance company that treated Robinson at the scene and released him.[1][3]
On August 4, 2022, Fox was found guilty of culpable negligence manslaughter. On August 17 he was sentenced to five years in prison.[7] Fox's conviction was overturned on January 30, 2024 due to his attorneys' successfully arguing that there was insufficient credible evidence to convict Fox in Robinson's death.[8][9]
Impact
editA march was held shortly after Robinson's death.[4]
According to The New York Times, the officers were charged "amid intense scrutiny of police brutality after the killing in May of George Floyd in the custody of the Minneapolis police".[1] United Press International reported, "The indictment comes as police departments across the country consider reforms in policing in the wake of protests against excessive force and racial bias."[3] However, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba stated that the indictment of the three police officers actually built on a police accountability policy the city adopted in October 2018 which requires all cases of people who died in the custody of the Jackson police to be turned over the district attorney for a grand jury review.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Levenson, Michael; Fazio, Marie (August 14, 2020). "3 Mississippi Police Officers Charged With Murder of Black Man". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "3 Mississippi police officers indicted in death of Black man". Associated Press. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Haynes, Danielle (August 15, 2020). "3 Mississippi officers charged with murder". United Press International. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Autopsy: Man's death after encounter with police a homicide". Associated Press. January 23, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ "Charges dismissed with prejudice against 2 officers accused in death of George Robinson - Darkhorse Press". May 20, 2021.
- ^ Levenson, Michael (May 20, 2021). "Judge Drops Murder Charges Against Two Officers Accused of Body-Slamming Man". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ Emery, Holly; Carter, Josh (August 17, 2022). "Former JPD officer Anthony Fox sentenced to 5 years in death of George Robinson". WLBT NBC 3. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "Anthony Fox free from prison a week after appeals court reverses manslaughter conviction". February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Anthony Fox rehired by Clinton Police Department after being cleared from abuse case - SuperTalk Mississippi". February 8, 2024.
Further reading
edit- Vicory, Justin (August 14, 2020). "3 police officers charged with second-degree murder in death of George Robinson in Jackson". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- Ladd, Donna; Crown, Kayode (August 14, 2020). "JPD Officers Indicted for Murder Present for Earlier Civilian Deaths". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- Apel, Therese (August 13, 2020). "Officers indicted on second-degree murder charges in death of George Robinson". WLBT. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- Thomas, Regina (August 14, 2020). "Family speaks out after 3 Jackson police officers charged with murder". WAPT. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- Simmons, Scott (January 22, 2019). "'We want justice,' marchers say in response to man's death following encounter with JPD". WAPT. Retrieved August 16, 2020.