Emery Robinson was eighteen when he was shot and killed by a local police officer in Pelham Manor on July 19, 1979. The officer stopped Robinson on suspicion the car he was driving was stolen. According to reports, an altercation followed, Robinson broke free and fled across a church parking lot, and the officer fired a warning shot and then a second shot that struck Robinson in the back. The officer later said he saw a shiny object in Robinson’s hand he feared was a weapon; that object was the car keys.

At trial a police ballistics expert testified that nitrite particles were found on the back of Robinson’s shirt, evidence consistent with being shot from behind while fleeing. Officer John B. Robbins was ultimately acquitted.

Robinson is remembered as a young man with a cherubic face and an easy laugh.