Quo Mieko Judkins condemns the shooting
Quo Mieko JudkinsCriminal-defense attorney for Phillip M. Brown
Judkins condemned the shooting as a grossly disproportionate response to the traffic violation that prompted the stop.
“It is shocking to me that someone was almost killed over a missing front license plate.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was HSI Agent Benedict Bebber justified in firing at Phillip M. Brown?
On October 17, 2025, Homeland Security Investigations agent Benedict Bebber fired multiple rounds at Phillip M. Brown's Dodge Durango during a traffic stop on Benning Road in Washington, D.C. Brown was not hit. The Department of Homeland Security said Brown deliberately tried to run officers down and that Bebber fired defensive shots while fearing for his life and others. Brown's lawyers said no officer was in the vehicle's path and pointed to bullet strikes through the driver's side. Two released Metropolitan Police Department body-camera clips capture the gunfire and aftermath but do not show Bebber firing. A judge dismissed Brown's fleeing charge for insufficient evidence, and the U.S. Attorney declined to prosecute Bebber. The dispute is whether Brown's vehicle presented an imminent threat when Bebber fired.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Guardian report reproducing Quo Mieko Judkins’s statement to Washington City Paper and DHS’s contemporaneous defense of the shooting.
Before the quotation
Brown had been stopped for heavily tinted windows and a missing front license plate and was later charged with fleeing.
After the quotation
Judkins said Brown was nearly killed in an encounter that ended with the court finding insufficient probable cause for a criminal charge.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
She directly rejects the shooting as an acceptable response to the stated basis for the stop.
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“It shows in fact that Homeland Security was doing exactly what they did in Minneapolis with Renee Good, using the vehicle as a pretext to try and murder somebody in cold blood. We want charges. We want federal agents charged, we want MPD and investigators charged. You can't nearly murder someone in D.C. and get to go back to work, continue patrolling the streets of D.C.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Quo Mieko Judkins condemns the shooting". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1481-judkins-condemned-the-shooting-as-a-grossly-disproportionate