Macon County mother calls for mental health awareness after son’s standoff with police

MONTEZUMA, Ga. — What began as a routine warrant service Friday night turned into an hours-long standoff that has a Central Georgia mother asking questions about how local police respond to mental health crises. 

Jason Robinson, 29, barricaded himself inside his grandmother’s home on Jan. 23 when Montezuma Police officers arrived to serve a warrant. It accused Robinson of making terroristic threats during a police call in December.

Hospital records provided by Robinson’s mother show he has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and developmental disabilities. He was released from a psychiatric facility just 72 hours before Friday’s run-in with law enforcement.

Robinson’s mother, Shaketa Robinson, is calling for better crisis intervention training for officers, while Montezuma Police Chief Eric Finch said his officers acted appropriately.

“Jason was a threat to himself, not to an officer,” Shaketa Robinson said. “He was in a crisis and having psychosis and paranoid schizophrenia. He was not out running in the community trying to cause harm.”

Shaketa Robinson said she rushed to the scene within minutes after hearing about the police presence while on the phone with her mother. Her son was still experiencing mental health problems, she said.

“I know any time Jason have an encounter with the officer, he goes into an episode because he has mental health issues,” she said.

According to Chief Finch, an officer spotted Jason Robinson on patrol and verified an active warrant before attempting to approach him. Finch said Robinson threatened officers with a knife and made statements about killing both officers and himself.

“We have body cam footage of all that,” Finch said. “Basically what it is right now, currently we’re getting ready to put our case file together. I have notified the district attorney’s office.”

Cell phone video recorded by Shaketa Robinson shows officers outside the home with one officer holding a firearm drawn. Shaketa Robinson said the show of force was excessive given that her son was behind a door and posed no immediate threat to officers.

Chief Finch says drawing a weapon is standard protocol when a suspect is armed.

“We have had incidents where people have had a knife and actually tried to kill someone and our officer had to make contact at that time,” Finch said. “So I’m not gonna say that he was over-aggressive.”

The chief said the officer had his weapon at a “low ready position” and was prepared for any potential threat.

Shaketa Robinson says she believed her son was only threatening himself. She also disputes reports characterizing the situation as a hostage situation since the girlfriend was in the house voluntarily, trying to calm him down.

“She was never a hostage,” Robinson said. “She was not going to leave Jason alone to hurt himself or for them to hurt him.”

Shaketa Robinson believes the entire situation could have been handled differently. 

“I feel like Corporal Johnson could have waited until the situation de-escalated or waited for backup, someone that was CPI or some kind of crisis intervention before proceeding with Jason so the situation would not escalate,” she said. 

A recent crisis plan from Robinson’s visit at Riverwoods Behavioral Health states that being isolated and someone trying to tell him what to do are triggers. The plan notes his behavior becomes agitated and he walks away as a response.

The chief said his department receives yearly de-escalation training and noted that officers successfully resolved the situation without anyone being seriously injured. However, he was unable to provide any written guidelines or training procedures from the department related to dealing with people in a mental health crisis. 

“I’m really proud of my staff because in a situation like that, and oftentimes as you can pretty much see across the country, a lot of times when you have these type of incidents, someone actually get hurt,” Finch said. “They was able to de-escalate the situation and actually get him to turn himself in without incident.”

Shaketa Robinson said Jason Robinson was taken to the Macon County jail, where Sheriff’s deputies arranged for a doctor to evaluate him, adding the doctor recommended hospitalization rather than incarceration, and Robinson is currently in a psychiatric facility.

“Sheriff Carlos Felton, he made the right and humane decision and moral decision to get him the proper help that he need,” Shaketa Robinson said. “I just wanna say kudos to the sheriff’s department.”

The chief says they’ve dealt with Robinson since 2015.

“Every time we have treated Mr. Robinson, we’re treating him with the utmost respect,” he said.

“We understand his situation, but my goal here is we don’t want our officers to get hurt,” Finch said. “But also I got to be an advocate for some of the victims that have had contact with Mr. Robinson as well.”

The chief said there are active warrants in both Macon and Pulaski counties related to Robinson.

Shaketa Robinson questions the warrant that led to Friday’s standoff. She said officers told her in late December that if she got her son into a hospital for treatment, no warrant would be issued.

“The officers told me if I get him to a hospital to get help, they will not serve a warrant or do anything to him,” she said. “I did exactly what they asked me to do and I have proof that I did.”

Finch said his department never made such an agreement and cannot make decisions about dropping warrants.

“If a warrant on issue like that, we cannot make that decision,” he said. “That have to be made through the district attorney’s office.”

That December case, and the latest case now sit with the district attorney’s office, which will determine how to proceed. Pending charges against Robinson have not been specified.

Shaketa Robinson says the entire situation highlights a need for better mental health crisis training among local officers.

“I’m not saying that my son do not need to be institutionalized, but he needs to be somewhere for treatment, not for punishment,” she said. “He did not ask to be born this way. I’m just asking for someone to step forward and acknowledge that he needs treatment and help, not punishment.”

She said she recorded portions of the incident on social media to document what was happening.

“I went live on social media so everybody can see what was going on because Jason have had encounters with law enforcement of the Montezuma Police Department in the past and it wasn’t pleasant,” she said.

Finch said his department will conduct an internal review of how they handled the case, as they do after every significant event, to determine if any additional training is needed.

“After every incident, we’re gonna go back and look at all our videos and anything that we see that we need to address, we’ll get those addressed,” he said.

The chief said the case demonstrates the challenges police face when dealing with individuals who have mental health issues while also trying to serve warrants and protect the community.

“We understand he needs help,” Finch said. “But I have to advocate for the victims that have been approached and been threatened, as my staff as well as other citizens in the community.”