Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

Jeffery Robinson

July 30, 2002—TN



Police storm the home of Jeffery Robinson, a 41-year-old gravedigger in South Memphis, Tennessee. Robinson lived in a small building on the site of the cemetery that employed him. Police conducted the raid based on an anonymous tip that someone was selling marijuana on the cemetery grounds.

Raiding officers kick in Robinson's door and immediately shoot him in his bedroom, putting a bullet through Robinson's neck. Robinson would die three weeks later.

Police said at the time that Robinson charged them with a box cutter. They also found a small amount of marijuana near a camper in Robinson's backyard. Immediately after the raid, Robinson was charged with possession, even as he lay in a hospital, fighting for his life.

A review by the Memphis police department's internal affairs unit and the Attorney General's Office found no wrongdoing on the part of the police. For two and a half years, the officers who participated in the Robinson raid remained on the Memphis police force.

In October 2004, the jury in a federal civil suit brought by Robinson's family made some striking findings.

The jury concluded that the box cutter police say Robinson charged them with -- which was never fingerprinted -- was planted on Robinson after the raid.

During the trial, a medical examiner and blood spatter expert also testified that the shooting couldn't possibly have happened the way police say it did. Furthermore, the shirts worn by Robinson and the officer who shot him vanished after the raid. Trial testimony revealed that police bought a new polo shirt, still in its wrapper, and booked it as the shirt Robinson wore the night he was shot.

The federal jury concluded that the officers shot Robinson without justification, then tampered with the evidence to cover up their mistakes. The jury also cast doubt on the ensuing investigation by the police department's internal affairs division.

In February 2005, the eight officers involved in the raid were finally suspended, more than two years after the raid. Robinson's family won a $2.85 million verdict against the officers, and negotiated a $1 million settlement from the city of Memphis.

Sources:

"Eight Memphis officers finally suspended in botched drug raid," Associated Press, February 5, 2005.

Jacinthia Jones, "8 officers suspended in '02 drug raid -- Until now, they remained on force even after jury finding," Memphis Commercial Appeal, February 5, 2005, p. A1.

injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.