“Strong, smart, patriotic, & loyal”: The Murder of Lt. Richard Collins III (Part 1)
This interview is published in memory of Lt. Richard Collins III, the third subject in our series “Unfinished Stories”.
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TW: Descriptions of violent death, hate crimes, and racism
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“Bowie State University student fatally stabbed on University of Maryland campus”
This was about the headline I saw in what must have been the early morning hours of May 20, 2017. On the eve of my graduation I read this headline, along with the name of a suspect that was… familiar to me.
After a moment of thought, I realized: I went to high school with this person… I saw him all the time in the halls of Severna Park High School. He seemed totally normal. He really… he actually killed someone…
The victim in this headline, recently commissioned Lieutenant Richard Collins III, was completely unknown to me. I had never met him, never even heard his name.
Little did I know that the universe would lead me to the opportunity to support his parents at the trial of his murderer with the Caucus of African American Leaders. Further down the line, that I would get the opportunity to speak with his mother to tell his story.
Richard was clearly a very special and beloved person. He was set to graduate from Bowie State University in three days, and had only just been commissioned into the U.S. Army two days before his death. He was on the verge of doing amazing things… and then my high school classmate murdered him as an act of hate.
His parents’ resiliency is breathtaking. They work through the ultimate grief of losing their son to a violent, hate-fueled death every day to run the foundations they’ve created in his name and provide grants to those who are following in Richard’s footsteps.
Just as with Rev. Marguerite and her daughter Kathy, and Sherri Warren with her brother Keith, we are honored to share the story of Lt. Richard Collins III through his eternally devoted and loving mother, Dawn Collins.
Be on the lookout for Part 2 coming on Memorial Day, May 27. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Emma Buchman (Magpie Editor, MOF Digital Content Director):
Thank you so much for taking the time to sit with me. Firstly, could you just tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you, what do you do, and what are a couple of experiences that made you who you are?
Dawn Collins (Public Health Specialist and Mother of Lt. Richard Collins III):
My name is Dawn Collins, and I am the very, very proud mother of Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III.
My family, we’re public servants. My husband is third generation military. I am a public servant as well: public health. I believe in giving back, this is something we do, have always done. My dad – retired NYPD. Again, steeped in public service and understanding the good and the need to give back to make this a better place for all of us.
…One of the stories about Lt. Collins is [about what] they found in his wallet… My dad had given him his badge, you know, [in case] anything ever happens… When they found it they called NYPD. The NYPD called my dad and asked if that was his grandson.
Emma:
That was probably a comforting source to receive that news from, but that’s not news you ever wanna receive.
Dawn:
No. No. But once a cop, always a cop.
Emma:
Yeah… I’m glad that they were there for him in that hour. That actually brings me to the next question, quite poignantly. We are here telling the unfinished story of your son, Lieutenant Richard Collins III. Where did Richard’s story begin and where did it end?
Dawn:
It began in Norfolk, Virginia, because we are a military family. My husband was stationed there.
[He was] so very, very, very much wanted. They actually flew my husband in from the ship for Richard’s birth because we had some complications. They wanted to make sure that if anything happened, he would be there. I remember seeing my husband coming in, in his military fatigues, came straight to the hospital…
It ended abruptly, sadly, at the University of Maryland College Park. Oftentimes, people like to call it the flagship university, where you would never, ever think that this type of thing would happen. I told my son not to go a lot of places, but never did I say, “Don’t go to the University of Maryland College Park, ‘cause you may lose your life.”
Not knowing what I know now about hate-fueled violence and how it’s proliferating throughout our society… Those purveyors of that mindset are targeting predominantly white universities and institutions, which is disgusting.
That’s where he transitioned: at a bus stop at the University of Maryland College Park.
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The bus stop where Lt. Collins was waiting for an Uber with friends when his murderer approached them. A memorial was created there after his death. (Etzedek24, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
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Emma:
I’m so sorry. I just have to say that. It’s awful.
Dawn:
It is. There’s nothing good. Nothing. There’s video showing the convicted murderer, that’s what I call him, actually leaving and coming back. So he thought about it, in my opinion. He could have kept going. Why come back?
Emma:
He had a choice. He had a choice right up to the very moment. He always had a choice.
Dawn:
Always have a choice. Always. As far as I know, he did not know Richard, Lt. Collins.
There’s a reason that I am adamant about calling him Lieutenant Collins – because there have been those who refuse to give him his title.
Emma:
Why?
Dawn:
Because they’re ignorant. He was sworn in as a military officer by a General. He had orders… He was an officer.
He could not have come home that night and said, “You know what, mom? I don’t wanna do this.” No – he belonged to the United States military.
Emma:
What branch was it again?
Dawn:
Army. Slated as an intel officer…
Emma:
…What was Richard like as a child?
Dawn:
Very inquisitive. Very bright. Believed that there was nothing he couldn’t do. He was gonna run faster. He was gonna go higher.
He was also a paratrooper, he earned his wings… He’s like, “Mom, that’s what I want!” I’m like, “…to jump out of a perfectly good airplane??” <laugh>…
[He] was a vivacious reader. Loved to read. Richard just enjoyed life. He wanted to experience it all. He was the person that would go up to a monk if you saw him and, and say, “Tell me more about your religion. Just tell me.” Very inquisitive.
Emma:
…What books did he like to read?
Dawn:
Sci-fi, did a lot of sci-fi. I can’t think of the name of some of them, I have to go in his room and check it out.
Oddly enough, Emma, his room is still the same. Richard again, believed in what he was doing. He actually put the American flag above his bed.
Emma:
He had a very affirmed sense of self…
Dawn:
Correct. Absolutely. He believed he would be that general officer one day. He just knew it: “I’m on my way. I’m going to the top.”
Emma:
…You mentioned he was a voracious reader, but what were some of Richard’s other favorite things to do?
Dawn:
Athletic, very athletic… top in his ROTC class for athleticism. He played lacrosse. He actually started the intramural lacrosse team at Bowie State. It was so cool.
I was over at Bowie, and I saw these young ladies walking through, they have, I think it was a female lacrosse team… He would’ve loved that, to see that.
Emma:
We know what Richard hoped to do as a career – he was a commissioned officer, and he was hoping to pursue that career through the military. What were his specific goals in the military? What was he passionate about with his job?
Dawn:
The intelligence realm. He wanted to know more and be more in that area. I have no doubt that he would’ve succeeded, because he was such that once he put his mind to something, it was gonna happen…
Emma:
No slowing down… What is one special memory you have with Richard that you still think of frequently?
Dawn:
This is the one that is quite painful. We have this tradition: anyone that leaves this house, I need to know. Okay?
That evening, when he left, I heard the garage go up. I called him and I said, “You didn’t come in the room to say, ‘See you later’?!”
He said, “Oh, I forgot, ma.” I said, “Well son, be careful.” And he said, “Don’t worry, I have too much to live for.”
That was our last conversation. <long pause> It’s still bittersweet, because he knew he had so much to live for and did not know the danger that was lurking. Like I said, he was at the top of his game at that time.
Emma:
The dangers of white supremacy are insidious and they lurk in dark corners… Thank you for sharing that with me. If you could describe Richard in three words, what would they be?
Dawn:
Strong, smart, patriotic… loyal.
Emma:
We started to touch on this, but how did Richard transition? What happened to interrupt his story?
Dawn:
From what I understand, the murderer approached and said, “Step left, if you know what’s best for you,” or something to that effect.
And from what I’m told, Lieutenant Collins said, “No.”
He stabbed him, and it hit him in the aorta. He bled out on streets, right there at the University of Maryland. What I do know, if you hit someone in the aorta, that’s it. There’s not much that can be done. Just stay away from the person.
It just makes absolutely no sense. No sense to this day. It boggles my mind, the injustices that we had to face.
Emma:
That sounds like a real Rosa Parks moment that he had – that he stood up for himself and for his honor.
Dawn:
Yes…I could see my son actually saying this, like, “Who are you, to tell me, to step left? Who are you? What are you?”
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(From left to right) Richard’s father, Rick Collins; Lt. Richard Collins III; & Richard’s mother, Dawn Collins. Lt. Collins was commissioned as an officer in the Army on May 18, 2017, just days before his murder. (Photo courtesy of the 2nd Lt. Richard W. Collins III Foundation)
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Emma:
“What are you” is right. What was the impact of Richard’s death on those closest to him?
Dawn:
We’re devastated… to this day. We’re a very close knit family. You saw one, you saw us all.
He has one sister. We loved, we love our children. My husband and I pour everything we have into our children, giving them the very best. I’m that mom, you know, they call it helicopter mom, mama bear <laugh>. I’m the one that would go and meet the teachers and the principals the first week and say, “Look, if there’s anything that we need to discuss, please call me. This is a partnership…”
…We are very, very, very firm in our belief and family and being together, very firm in that. That’s the way I was raised.
[Just] because we are people that have melanin in our skin, don’t think that we are any less. Don’t think that we don’t love our children. Don’t think that we don’t work and provide. How dare you? How dare you? You don’t know anything about us. I’m adamant about that. The murderer didn’t know anything, didn’t care to know anything.
…So you can imagine, Emma, sitting in court and looking at the murderer’s family, when they threw out the hate crime charge, that they actually clapped and high-fived each other? What kind of people do that? Who are you? Again, my son is a military officer; United States military. But… <throws up her hand>.
Emma:
Could you go into that case a little bit more, what you were just referencing? [The murderer] was charged with murder and a hate crime.
Dawn:
Correct.
Emma:
But what happened in the case ultimately?
Dawn:
Well, he followed a Facebook page of the alt-right nation. Disgusting things on it. He had disgusting things on his phone. So they were using that to prove that he had biases.
I’m told that the judge threw that out because he said the [way he] law was written, that hate had to be the sole motivating force behind something. I’m no attorney… this is all I’m gonna have to say to that: if you have child pornography on your phone, you’re considered a what? A child pornographer. That is against the law.
Your phone, my phone, anyone’s phone is a microcosm as to who you are. I believe that with all my heart. And when you see disgusting things on someone’s phone, no matter what it is, it tells you who they are. That’s what I’ll always say. That is my opinion. Your phone is a microcosm as to who you are.
Emma:
I agree with that. There’s a lot of damage someone could do to me if they got my phone… We pour so much of ourselves into it on a daily basis… It’s just natural, it’s gonna become that.
Dawn:
It becomes that. That phone tells you who you interact with, what you think is important, all of that is on that phone.
Emma:
And you don’t just save any random things. You save things you wanna go back to look at.
Dawn:
You save things that you wanna go back to, to look at, that intrigue you… So to have those images, in my opinion, is no joke.
Emma:
I agree with you. I was there when that happened with members of the Caucus of African American Leaders, and we were in shock as well.
Dawn:
Oh, you were there! <laugh>.
Emma:
Yeah, <laugh>… I think I was there for the last couple of days. It was the day the hate crime charge was thrown out… and then I went back the following day as well…
Dawn:
Horrible. It was horrible.
Emma:
It was awful…
Check back for PART 2 next Monday on Memorial Day. Dawn and Emma discuss hers and her husband’s advocacy after Lt. Collins’ death and his legacy.
