The family of an unarmed man killed by an off-duty Philly detective wants answers

The family of an unarmed man who was shot and killed by an off-duty Philadelphia homicide detective last month said they have received no updates from city law enforcement in the nearly six weeks since the shooting, and are growing anxious for answers.

Robert Jones, 54, was shot and killed by Detective Christopher Sweeney in Northeast Philadelphia around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 3. Sweeney had just finished his shift in the homicide unit, and was on his way home in his personal vehicle, when police said he slowed at a stoplight at Willits Road and Holme Avenue.

Jones, driving a Kia, pulled up behind Sweeney and, for reasons that remain unclear, got out of his car. Just as he approached the driver’s side of Sweeney’s car, police said, the detective pulled out a gun and fired multiple times through his car window.

Jones died at the hospital shortly after arrival. His family said a medical examiner told them he was shot four times.

Philadelphia police searched the area for hours after the shooting, even diving into the sewers and opening up manholes in search of a potential weapon. Nothing was recovered, law enforcement sources said.

Jones, a part-time roadside assistance worker, was wearing a reflective vest as he approached Sweeney’s car, said Shaka Johnson, a lawyer for Jones’ family. He said Jones had nothing in his hands — “not a clipboard, pen, not even his phone” — that could have been misconstrued as a weapon when he was shot.

In the nearly six weeks since the shooting, Johnson said, neither he nor Jones’ family has heard from anyone in Philadelphia law enforcement about the status of the investigation.

“It has been deafeningly silent,” said Johnson. He questioned the amount of time that has passed with no updates from District Attorney Larry Krasner.

“While I don’t think there’s any collusion,” he said of prosecutors and police, “there’s certainly a dereliction of duty.”

Krasner declined to comment Tuesday, as did a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, citing the ongoing investigation. Sweeney, a 14-year veteran of the force, has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the case.

Sweeney was driving his own car and fired his personal weapon, which was legally owned and registered to him, police said.

Investigators have reviewed surveillance video at and near the scene, but none captured the shooting, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The incident was initially reported over police radio as a response to an attempted carjacking, but that theory was quickly debunked, the sources said.

Investigations into officer-involved shootings can take anywhere from weeks to months to complete. Other cases can remain open for years, like the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., who, while experiencing a mental health crisis, approached two police officers with a knife outside his family home, ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon, and was shot multiple times in October 2020.

Michael Jones, the younger brother of Robert Jones, said that when police visited his mother to tell her that her son had been killed, she had a panic attack. Robert Jones is the second child she has lost to a shooting — her youngest son, Jamal, was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2001, he said.

Michael Jones said he met with investigators briefly the day after the shooting, but after learning that his brother was killed by an off-duty detective, he left the station and sought counsel.

“This just don’t feel right to my soul,” he said. “I’m just trying to remain focused and ensure that they don’t throw dirt on his name. … I won’t be satisfied until [Sweeney’s] locked up.”

Robert Jones, the oldest of four boys, was raised in the Wilson Park housing projects of South Philadelphia. His mother gave birth to him at age 15, Michael Jones said, and worked tirelessly over the years to provide for her children.

Jones had gotten into some trouble as a young man and was convicted of theft and illegal gun possession in 1991, but after that, he turned his life around and focused on work and family, they said. He worked for nearly a decade as a groundskeeper for the Eagles, and for over 20 years with Southwark Metal Manufacturing. His family called him “Tone,” short for his middle name, Anthony.

An avid Philadelphia sports fan, he loved dressing in kelly green to support the Eagles. He was the person everyone called for help, he said, whether it was painting a house, replacing a car part, or catching a ride to a doctor’s appointment.

Michael Jones said his brother did not smoke or do drugs, and rarely drank. He was unmarried, had no children, and spent nearly all of his time at work, in the gym, and helping care for his mother, who suffered a stroke two years ago. He loved to draw and paint, he said, and always dressed to impress, showing up nearly everywhere he went in color-coordinated outfits.

Robert Jones, his brother said, especially enjoyed being an uncle to his three young nephews, who are hurt and confused by his sudden death.

“When I told my son, and I told him he was killed by a police officer, he asked, ‘Do we still run to police?’” Michael Jones said. “There’s some things you can’t answer. Because not all are like that.”