Crockett defends security guard killed in SWAT standoff despite criminal history
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The man who worked security for Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, but was killed in a shootout with SWAT last week, has been charged with impersonating a police officer and other crimes; but the congressman defends him, saying his criminal history does not include any violent crimes.
The suspect, identified as Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39, was shot and killed by Dallas Police SWAT officers on Wednesday. He had barricaded himself in a vehicle in the garage of a children’s hospital after Dallas Police officers pursued him while investigating an active arrest warrant.
Police used tear gas to force him out before the suspect got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at the officers, prompting the officers to shoot him. The suspect did not fire his weapon and no officers were injured.
Dash camera footage of the incident at Children’s Medical Center Dallas was released Monday.
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Dallas police responded to a SWAT standoff at Dallas Children’s Medical Center, where officers shot and killed a man working as a security guard for Rep. Jasmine Crockett. (FOX; Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
He was wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer, which he claimed when he hired him for his job placing off-duty officers in security jobs.
Robinson drove a replica undercover car with stolen U.S. government license plates, frequently wore fake police uniforms pretending to be a federal agent, and created a fraudulent business by using fake credentials to recruit legitimate police officers for off-duty work. Dallas Police also said 11 firearms were seized during the investigation, including the handgun he was in possession of at the time of the shooting, which was reported stolen.
He also did not use his real name and used the pseudonym “Mike King”.
“The agencies that he reported working for do not exist. So the dignitaries, basically special respected cops, that agency does not exist within the federal government. So that’s who he portrays as being. There was no actual federal agency that he worked for. He was very good at hiding his true identity… He had been living that way for years,” Deputy Dallas Police Chief William Griffith said Monday.
Dashcam footage of the dispute between SWAT and Diamon-Mazairre Robinson. (Dallas Police Department)
Robinson has a lengthy criminal history, with arrests dating back to 2010. He is accused of crimes including theft and violating probation.
Crockett came to the former security guard’s defense in a statement Monday, saying his office had found no violent crimes in his “limited criminal history.”
“We are saddened and shocked by some of the relevant revelations. Our team followed all protocols established by the House to contract for additional security. We were approved to use this vendor, which also provides security services for additional organizations in the local community and works closely with law enforcement, including the Capitol Police,” he said.
“The fact that an individual could somehow bypass review processes for such a sensitive issue as the security of members of Congress highlights the gaps and deficiencies in many of our systems,” the congresswoman said.
Dallas police officers gather near vehicles outside the hospital parking lot after a SWAT shootout. (FOX4)
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“This is incredibly concerning, especially for members who have received a high volume of credible and sophisticated death threats,” he said. “This situation reiterates the need for Capitol Police to provide security for members of Congress, especially under this administration’s new normal of inciting attacks on those who dare to speak. We are fortunate that this is someone who exploits these loopholes without malicious intent. Additionally, after an initial review of Diamon Mazairre Robinson’s limited criminal history in Dallas County, we were unable to locate any violent crimes.”
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The progressive lawmaker said he never put his team in harm’s way, worked diligently, coordinated with local law enforcement and maintained positive relationships throughout the community, adding that there was “no reason to suspect that he was not who he claimed to be.”
“What we now know about his past does not fit the person we know as Mike King,” he wrote. “His death evokes a variety of emotions. Our hearts grieve the loss of someone we knew and the loss of the good that could have come from his rescue.”
