Mother of Atlanta man shot 59 times is demanding the officer charged in his son’s death be fired after learning he trains SWAT officers at the firing range

The mother of a Georgia man killed by police is demanding the release of one of the officers charged with murder in his death.

Monteria Robinson told the Atlanta Black Star that she lost her nerve Tuesday after finding out that Clayton County Police Officer Kristopher Hutchens was spotted at a training facility where SWAT officers were teaching gunnery. Hutchens was involved in the fatal shooting of her son Jamarion Robinson in 2016 and faces criminal prosecution in the case.

Someone in the department spotted Hutchens at the facility and alerted news commentator Rashad Richey. The Clayton Police Department has since removed the officer from the training job, but Robinson said that wasn’t enough. She wants his badge taken from him.

Robinson said she was mentally preparing for a candlelight vigil on Aug. 5, the anniversary of Jamarion’s death, but the new revelation opened a wound and revived the pain she felt when she first heard of her son’s death .

“How disrespectful is that? You still have that officer working. Are you serious?” thought Robinson as she watched Richey’s YouTube break the news. “It brought me to an emotional breakdown because I was like, how is this and why?”

Jamarion Robinson was shot 59 times on August 5, 2016 while the US Marshals Southeast Regional Task Force was serving an arrest warrant at his girlfriend’s home in Atlanta’s East Point neighborhood.

The group of about 16 police officers from various local authorities and US marshals wanted to arrest the 26-year-old for arson and serious bodily harm to an officer. State investigators said Jamarion Robinson ignored officers’ orders to drop a gun he fired at them three times.

Monteria Robinson said her son has paranoid schizophrenia and is a “committed” college student and football player. He had a mental crisis when he poured gasoline under his bed and near his mother’s bedroom. She reported the incident to the police to get him psychological help, his mother said.

Police say Jamarion Robinson pointed a gun at two officers after someone called 911 to report they were harassing residents of a gated community weeks after the arson attack. He fled the scene and was then classified as a fugitive, law enforcement sources say.

Hutchens and Eric Heinze, a task force deputy chief inspector, were charged in September 2021 with felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary, false testimony and breach of oath by an officer for their role in Jamarion Robinson’s death.

A private investigator hired by his mother found evidence of shots being fired directly into the ground where his body lay and the dead man had bullet holes in the palm of his hand, she said.

Under Clayton County’s own Use of Force policy, any officer involved in a fatal incident of violence should be placed on administrative leave immediately upon preliminary reporting of the incident. The leave comes with full pay and benefits pending an investigation, according to departmental records,” the policy, amended in 2019, reads.

However, because Hutchens was executing an arrest warrant with the US Marshals Task Force, the incident had to be investigated by federal authorities. It’s unclear when Hutchens was acquitted of wrongdoing, but on August 17, 2021, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners signed a resolution to expand the county’s participation in the US Marshals Task Force and appoint Hutchens a part-time coach.

The resolution said Hutchens had “earned a well-deserved reputation as an excellent coach” and that the task force had asked him to “fill an existing gap in their training squad”. It created the position specifically for Hutchens, the document obtained from the Atlanta Black Star said.

Hutchens reportedly joined the Clayton County Police Department in 1996. He left the agency in 2009 and returned in 2013 and has worked with the task force since 2014.

“This is the first time the Marshal Service has issued such an invitation in the Atlanta area,” the resolution reads.

The warrant for the state charges against Hutchens was served in December 2021. The department told 11 Alive that Hutchens had been transferred to administrative duty in March.

“Recent concerns brought to the Clayton County Board of Commissioners regarding the administrative assignment of Sergeant K. Hutchens to the advanced training unit have had an impact on the Board and the Clayton County Police Department. Chief Kevin Roberts has reconsidered the sergeant’s assignment and placed him on non-training duty; effective immediately,” Clayton County police officers said in a statement.

Monteria Robinson said that although some people have pointed out that the officer is “innocent until proven guilty,” her son was not given an opportunity to defend his case.

“He couldn’t spend his day in court because the constitution allows us due process, but they chose that day to be judge, jury and executioner,” she said.

Hutchens and Heinze both plead not guilty to the charges. The murder trial is scheduled to begin on September 12. A federal judge dismissed Monteria Robinson’s civil suit, arguing that she had insufficient evidence of excessive force or false testimony by officials, which she has appealed.