Man shot by trooper is dead
Saturday, November 5, 2005
Man shot by trooper is dead
Life support removed by Johnson's family
By Matthew Bruun and Milton J. Valencia TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Mr. Johnson
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FITCHBURG- Preston D. Johnson, shot by a state trooper early Thursday, died yesterday after his family told doctors to disconnect life support.
Mr. Johnson, 30, of 3 Portland St. was shot about 2 a.m. Thursday by Trooper Donald C. Gray, an 11-year veteran.
A lawyer for the state police said Trooper Gray fired to protect a Fitchburg police officer after Mr. Johnson steered his car toward the Fitchburg officer. Mr. Johnson had already driven his car at the trooper, the lawyer said.
Mr. Johnson, who family members said was shot in the back of the head, was removed from life support yesterday afternoon. He had been declared brain dead Thursday, but was kept on life support to allow his mother, traveling from Mississippi, to see him.
"My brother's gone home to rest," Joyce Johnson said.
Family members expressed outrage at the shooting, and said Mr. Johnson, whose criminal past they acknowledged, was turning his life around.
Ms. Johnson yesterday lashed out at prosecutors and state police, saying her family received little information about the shooting. At the same time, she argued, officials were quick to announce to news media outlets that her brother had died, which she called a violation of his privacy. She also questioned what led to an incident in which her brother would be shot in the back of the head, saying officials have yet to explain the circumstances to her family.
Prosecutors had been prepared to file criminal charges against Mr. Johnson, including two counts of assault with intent to murder for allegedly driving at the trooper and the officer. Ms. Johnson argued that no one has explained why the trooper tried to stop him in the first place.
"They shot my brother in the head, and now they want to put him in jail," Ms. Johnson said Thursday, while her brother was still connected to life support.
Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte's office is investigating the shooting.
Timothy M. Burke, legal counsel to the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said Trooper Gray met with Mr. Conte yesterday morning in the Worcester courthouse. Mr. Conte is scheduled Monday to interview the Fitchburg police officer who was at the scene. That officer's name has not been made public.
Trooper Gray has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation, a state police spokesman said Thursday.
Mr. Burke said Trooper Gray had been "fully cooperative" with investigators. He said there was no timetable for the inquiry to be completed.
Mr. Burke provided the following account of the moments before the shooting: Trooper Gray was standing on the driver's side of Mr. Johnson's vehicle while a Fitchburg officer stood in front. The police were ordering him to exit when Mr. Johnson tried to drive off. Trooper Gray tried to smash the driver's side window in an attempt to stop it.
"You have an individual who is unwilling to surrender to police after a pursuit," Mr. Burke continued. "It's a tense, evolving situation."
The situation escalated when Mr. Johnson drove his vehicle toward the police officers, Mr. Burke said.
"The suspect then angled the vehicle sharply to his left, made contact with the trooper and was heading toward the Fitchburg officer," Mr. Burke said. "That's when the shot was fired."
Mr. Burke described Trooper Gray as a very experienced and cool-headed veteran who fired to protect a fellow police officer.
The sport utility vehicle came to rest in a driveway on Spruce Street. Neighbors recalled hearing a crash, and the occupant of the house said she saw the driver lying unconscious on the passenger seat.
Mr. Johnson had a long criminal record, including serving four years in prison for shooting at two Fitchburg State College students in 1996. Family members said he had been trying to turn his life around since his release from prison in 2001.
He had several brushes with the law since, including having his driver's license suspended for numerous traffic violations. He was arrested by state police in Fitchburg in June after a trooper spotted him driving a motorcycle with his feet.
But family members argued that Mr. Johnson's past has nothing to do with Thursday's incident, and questioned how a traffic violation could lead to a shooting.
"They portrayed him like he was a thug, when he's a young black entrepreneur," said Valerie Hallolden, of Lunenburg, a close family friend.
Mr. Johnson, known to friends as "P," was nearing completion of barber school and wanted to open his own shop, friends said. He had worked in construction and as an auto mechanic.
He leaves two children, a son Alexander, 13, and a daughter, Shameeda, 9. Family members said he had grown distant from Alexander because of his past, but tried to make up his fatherhood with Shameeda, who family members said looks like him.
He had been with a girlfriend, Maribel Torres, for several years, and the two were close, family members said.
Angel Torres, Maribel's brother and the boyfriend of Joyce Johnson, said Mr. Johnson was at a friend's house earlier Thursday evening. Mr. Torres did not know where Mr. Johnson had been before the shooting, but said he was on his way home and was only blocks away when the shooting occurred.
"He wasn't doing 360s or anything. He was on his way home," Mr. Torres said Thursday. He also questioned how his friend could be shot in the back of the head for what he called a traffic violation.
A state police department policy prohibiting officers from discharging firearms at moving vehicles "unless any occupant uses or threatens to use lethal force" will likely be used to determine whether Trooper Gray's actions were justified.
Police officers are not allowed to shoot at moving vehicles except when they feel there is an imminent and immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death, according to state and many local police department policies.
The state police arrest log at the Leominster barracks offered no insight yesterday into the motor vehicle infraction that led Trooper Gray to attempt a stop, where the pursuit began, or at what time. It showed the charges against Mr. Preston as being recorded at 1:54 a.m., about the time neighbors said they heard at least one gunshot.
Many police departments' policies on when officers can shoot at moving vehicles vary only slightly. Worcester and Fitchburg police guidelines are similar to those of state police.
Officers are authorized to shoot at the moving vehicle when there is a threat of bodily harm to the officer, other officers or the public. Worcester policy also prohibits officers from disabling the vehicle with gunshots.
The last time an officer shot at a motorist in Fitchburg was Oct. 18, 2001. Police Sgt. Jeffrey J. Howe, then a patrolman, was cleared of wrongdoing in shooting three shots at a moving vehicle on John Fitch Highway when Charles E. Thore, was ramming his car into the officer's cruiser. One shot hit Mr. Thore in the neck, injuring him.
Mr. Thore pleaded guilty in 2002 to the charges stemming from the volatile confrontation. He was sentenced to four years in state prison.
Christina E. Sanchez of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.