Da’Quain Johnson: Grand Rapids Police Officers Gun Down Black Man, Outrage Sparked Following Release Of Body Camera Footage

This is another sad and disturbing story of police violence against Black people in America and the circumstances are almost identical to so many others that occurred prior.

According to Fox17Online, a 26-year-old Black man named Da’quan Johnson was fatally shot by Grand Rapids Police Department officers following a brief pursuit. Officers responded to a call about a man on a bicycle who was allegedly armed but was not reported to be harassing, assaulting, or brandishing the firearm in question. GRPD initially used a canine to apprehend Johnson, who had fallen off his bike and was being bitten by the police animal. When officers approached him for arrest, there was a brief struggle before one of them said “he’s got a gun” before quickly firing multiple shots, one of which struck Johnson the back of the head at point-blank range.

GRPD released body camera and dash camera footage captured at the scene; however, a video captured by a bystander cell phone reveals an infuriating truth.

Warning: the following footage is graphic and may be disturbing.

While this angle doesn’t exactly validate the officers’ “feared for my life” story, the bystander footage almost outright refutes it.

Again, this footage is disturbing.

Angelica Johnson, Da’Quain’s mother, was present during a public vigil and a press conference and did not bite her tongue about her grief and anger over her son’s needless death.

“I do pray that the two men that stood over my son’s back look me in my eye and tell me why the **** they shot my son,” Johnson’s mother said.

“I want justice for Daquan Trey Johnson, okay, and I’m gonna get justice because this — we can’t let this ride, that’s right. If we let this ride, y’all might as well just get rid of your whole court system, period,” she said.

An Attorney named Marc Curtis is representing the officers in this case and he released a statement on his clients behalf that chided the public, and essentially Da’Quan’s family, for “rushing to judgment”.

Via Fox17Online:

“Many are focused on only portions of videos, but no one is reporting or acknowledging the third video that the Grand Rapids Police Department released where the officer states, ‘I saw the barrel pointed right at my face’ at the 6 min 14 second mark of the GRPD press conference on YouTube.”

Police say all kinds of things, but that doesn’t mean that they are telling the truth. Based on the videos that were released, where Johnson’s hands are clearly not free to pull out a gun, it’s almost impossible to believe that somehow he pointed the weapon at the officer’s face.

BOSSIP will continue to monitor this case and will be providing detailed updates as more information becomes avaiable.

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