The family of Malcolm Johnson is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Kansas City Police Department following a decision by prosecutors not to file charges against the officer who killed the 31-year-old nearly two years ago.
Khadijah Hardaway, a spokeswoman for Johnson’s family, said the family does not believe the version of events put forward by local law enforcement and still has questions about what happened the day of the shooting.
“We’re standing out here on behalf of Malcolm Johnson’s family saying that we don’t believe the reports that have come forward, we want more answers, we want more transparencies,” Hardaway said.
Her public comments came hours after the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office released a five-page report concluding that no officers will be charged in the fatal March 25, 2021, shooting. The case had been given to a special prosecutor in St. Louis County after the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it had a conflict of interest in reviewing it.
Video of the shooting showed two Kansas City police officers approach Johnson with guns drawn inside a gas station at 63rd and Prospect. The officers grabbed Johnson and a struggle ensued.
More officers tried to restrain Johnson on the ground. Christopher King, a spokesman for the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office, said evidence showed Johnson fired a single shot first.
The wounded police officer then shot Johnson twice in the head, according to prosecutors.
Community reaction was mixed following the announcement of the prosecutors’ decision Monday. Two pastors who were among those raising questions about the shooting early on and who delivered surveillance video of the incident to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said they were satisfied with the investigation.
“We asked for an investigation and that’s what happened,” Emanuel Cleaver III, senior pastor at St. James United Methodist Church, said Monday. “I think this case shows that when the community comes together and makes demands change can take place. My hope is that going forward community leaders and the Kansas City Police Department can work together to make a real difference in our city.”
But others still have questions. Civil rights leaders called on authorities to release all the videos from the shooting and linked Johnson’s death to wider problems with police department’s record of killing Black men.
Hardaway and others said they wondered how Johnson could have fired a gun with several officers on top of him and why the officer needed to shoot him while he was being subdued on the ground.
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Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, said criminal liability is hard to prove in police killing cases even for lower-level charges like manslaughter.
“The prosecutor’s report is still somewhat inconclusive about whether Mr. Johnson had taken out his gun and to what degree he posed a risk to the officers,” Bonds said.
“That ambiguity can be helpful to officers in a criminal case. However, it is important to note that just because the officers aren’t criminally liable does not mean they acted in accordance with best practices or constitutional standards for the purposes of a civil rights case.”
‘Justice be served’
On the day of the shooting, the highway patrol took over the investigation, as it typically does in Kansas City police shootings by mutual agreement between the agencies.
The patrol said that, during the struggle in the gas station, Johnson drew a handgun and shot one of the officers in the leg as an additional two officers had arrived on the scene to help with the arrest. The officer who was shot returned fire, the patrol said.
In the videos, three gunshots can be heard, but it is unclear who fired the shots.
When Cleaver first saw the videos, he too was outraged.
Weeks after the shooting, he was among a group of ministers who met with members of the Kansas City Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure that justice would be served.
The ministers questioned the highway patrol’s initial account of what happened and called for charges to be filed. The group had grown critical of former police chief Rick Smith, who left the department last April.
Darron Edwards, lead pastor of the United Believers Community Church, was also part of the group and said Monday he respected the special prosecutor’s findings.
Edwards said he was confident in Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves’ “openness to tough conversations to instill trust in the community.” He said he was told that if any new and credible evidence emerges, the case will be given a second look.
“As a faith community leader, I will continue to advocate for that work and do my best to hold the KCPD accountable when they are wrong and applaud when they are doing successful policing in every ZIP code.”
Graves said the department’s goal was for everyone to go home safe after every interaction.
“No police officer wants to be in a situation where they get injured, nor do they want to have to cause injury to someone else,” Graves said in a written statement.
“This decision represents the culmination of a process from the onset of outside independent investigation meant to inspire trust in the review of KCPD’s use of force. We recognize there is still work to do with our community to build that trust and under my leadership relationships are among my top priorities.”
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‘Only in KC’
Some were angered by the special prosecutor’s findings, which concluded that the officer acted in self-defense.
Hardaway questioned how Johnson would have been able to fire a weapon when he was on the ground with several officers on top of him and said his right arm was not fully functional.
According to the prosecutor’s report, a Glock handgun was found under Johnson’s body. One spent casing was located in the gun’s chamber.
The bullet that struck the officer could have been fired from the Glock, but was too damaged for a positive determination, the prosecutor’s office said.
Prosecutors said in their report that an exam of the firearm did not yield any DNA profiles suitable for testing. King said they did not test for gunshot residue on Johnson because it is no longer considered an industry standard.
The prosecutor’s report said evidence was consistent with Johnson having a firearm and using it to shoot an officer and a bullet trail in Johnson’s coat showed he fired through a pocket.
Experts who reviewed the video said the two officers who initially confronted Johnson in the gas station did not give Johnson a chance to surrender and put bystanders at risk.
Gwen Grant, president/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said she also has questions and called for all of the video and audio recordings to be released.
According to the prosecutor’s report, surveillance recordings captured a dozen angles from the store.
“It is imperative that all 12 video angles referenced in the report be shared with the public,” Grant said. “In the quest for equal justice and accountability in police-involved homicides, transparency is essential. Failure to shine a light on all facts related to this case will further erode the already fractured community trust.”
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Sheryl Ferguson, an activist with It’s Time 4 Justice, said the decision was devastating.
“To think you could be face down with 5 officers on top of you and be executed with two gunshot wounds to the head and not face charges is unimaginable. Only in KC,” she said. “This is the reason for our high unresolved murder rate. We can never trust the police, or the prosecutor.”
A statement by the activist group Decarcerate KC said Monday’s decision was “disturbing, but not surprising given the KCPD’s history of violence and lack of accountability.”
In recent years, five KCPD officers have been charged with violent crimes against Black people, including in a fatal shooting. Former detective Eric DeValkenaere was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Cameron Lamb. The other four cases involved assaults.
“Johnson’s murder proves the need for a fundamental shift in our approach to public safety,” the organization said. “We must invest in community-led alternatives that prioritize the well-being and safety of all members of our community. We must confront the systemic racism and implicit bias that underpin many police practices and policies.”