The family of a Brooklyn man hit by a police cruiser is seeking answers in his death. Tamon Robinson was struck by the vehicle earlier this month, following a police chase, and now his family is set to join Rev. Al Sharpton in rallying to further the investigation into the killing.
Robinson is alleged to have been seen stealing bricks from the Bay View Houses in the Canarsie section of the borough, just before 5:00 a.m. Police pursued the 27-year-old, who ran away on foot, and struck him with a patrol car. “They hit him,” 26-year-old, Franchette Mowbray, told The New York Times. “He flew up and he came down. They backed the car up, and they told him to get up. People were yelling out their windows screaming at the cops, ‘We saw what you did.’ ” Mowbray’s account is in stark contrast to that of authorities who allege that Robinson ran into the vehicle, while it was parked. He was transported to Brookdale University Hospital, and was handcuffed to a bed, despite falling into a coma. Robinson was declared brain-dead six days later, and was taken off a respirator on April 18.
The New York Department of Internal Affairs is investigating the matter, but this isn’t the first time that the NYPD has come under fire for taking the life of a black man. Two detectives are the focus of a federal discrimination lawsuit for routinely using racial epithets, discriminating against minority employees, and encouraging their subordinates to kill black male suspects.
Sharpton has long used his platform to shed light on various injustices. In recent months, he has worked closely with the family of Trayvon Martin, leading protests calling for the arrest of the teen’s shooter George Zimmerman, who is now facing second-degree murder charges. The civil rights activist, the National Action Network, and Robison’s mother, Laverne Dobbinson, will hold the rally at the House of Justice, 106 145th St. at Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem.
Robinson’s funeral is scheduled to be held today.
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