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Re: Unarmed |
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Posted by GP38/R42 Chris on Wed Sep 3 08:49:24 2014, in response to Re: Unarmed, posted by Dave on Tue Sep 2 22:18:14 2014. I guess the official New Orleans website is also invalid:http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/no_cop_killed_with_own_gun.html  N.O. cop killed with own gun Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune By Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune Follow on Twitter on January 28, 2008 at 9:57 PM, updated October 05, 2009 at 5:26 PM Officer Nicola Cotton By Brendan McCarthy, Laura Maggi and Mary Sparacello Staff writers A New Orleans police officer was fatally shot Monday morning in Central City by a man who police initially called a possible rape suspect, but who relatives said is a paranoid schizophrenic transient with no history of sexual assault. On Monday morning, officer Nicola Cotton, 24, approached a middle-aged man sitting in the parking lot a Central City strip of stores, Police Department spokesman Sgt. Joe Narcisse said. Police Superintendent Warren Riley said the man appeared homeless. Surveillance footage shows Cotton motioning casually about 10 a.m. for the man to come near, police said. At that point, for reasons unclear, he pounced, Narcisse said.  For seven minutes, the pair tussled on the pavement, police said. Cotton called for backup on her radio at some point during the struggle, but the man wrestled her gun away from her and shot her before help could arrive, police said. Ted Jackson / Times-PicayunePolice officers walk Bernel Johnson through Orleans Parish lockup. Johnson is being charged with the first-degree murder of NOPD police officer Nicola Cotton. "He fired several times," Narcisse said. "She goes down to the ground. He just stands there, over her, looking down." He fired again, unloading her service weapon of all its bullets, Narcisse said. Cotton -- a shy, soft-spoken and ambitious young officer patrolling some of the city's most violent corridors -- was pronounced dead minutes later at University Hospital. She became the second female NOPD officer killed in the line of duty. Two men, similar names Police said Cotton was shot in the 2100 block of Earhart Boulevard by Bernel Johnson, a man described as having a history of sexual assault in an NOPD news release. "Officer Cotton responded to a suspicious person, possibly the perpetrator of a sexual assault," the news release stated. "Johnson has been previously arrested for sexual assaults in Jefferson Parish." Riley, addressing reporters shortly after police booked Johnson into jail, also said the suspect has a history of sex offenses. But Bernel Johnson's family in Kenner described him as a wayward vagrant with mental health issues and a minor police record -- a man who had bounced in and out of mental health institutions. An electronic search of court records in Orleans and Jefferson parishes turned up no recent record for a Bernel Johnson. The same records search, however, produced a criminal history for another man named Bernell Johnson -- spelled with two "l's" -- also 44, who pleaded guilty to forcible rape in 1998, and has been arrested for other offenses. It's unclear if the Police Department confused the two men, but the suspect in the shooting of the police officer was booked into jail under the wrong name spelling and wrong birth date -- information matching that of the Johnson convicted of rape. 'A very dangerous job' In Kenner, Bernel Johnson's family members described him as a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic with violent tendencies. They say they have long fought a losing battle to get him mental help. Gathered in a front room of a Kenner home Monday night, Johnson's family said he was diagnosed with the illness when he was 19. With tears welling, Johnson's brother Timothy Johnson expressed his condolences to Cotton's family. "I'm sorry her life was brought to such an abrupt end serving the community," he said. Riley said the shooting cast a pall of grief over the New Orleans Police Department. "It is extremely difficult. I just left a group of officers who are crying, who are upset," Riley said. "My message to the officers: We have citizens to serve. We have a very, very, very dangerous job. We have to do all that we can to keep our citizens safe, as well as ourselves." It is unclear what prompted Cotton to question Johnson in the parking lot shared by a urban wear store, a Chinese food store and a laundry. Cotton was patrolling alone, without a partner, which Riley called common practice. Riley said Cotton responded to a call about a man who was possibly wanted for rape and found him in the lot. Narcisse said Cotton was responding to a report of a "suspicious person." Struggle caught on tape All agree that Cotton stopped her patrol vehicle, approached the man and began questioning him. At some point, Cotton radioed in to a dispatcher that the matter was "Code 4," which means the officer doesn't need backup. Johnson was sitting down, and when she reached out to handcuff him, he pushed her away, Riley said. After viewing surveillance footage, Narcisse said Cotton had her hand by her side and motioned to Johnson in a "come here" manner. He attacked. During the struggle, the officer lost control of her radio, but she was able to recover it and call for backup. The suspect, who Riley described as twice the officer's size, then grabbed her weapon and shot her.. A report of an "officer down" crackled across department police radios. Additional patrol cars arrived within about two minutes, police said. With guns drawn, responding officers approached Johnson, Narcisse said. In a matter-of-fact manner, Johnson held out Cotton's .40 caliber Glock, gripping it by the butt of the handle. He handed it to a police officer, Narcisse said, and officers detained him. Police declined to say whether Cotton was wearing a police-issued safety vest. Riley said Cotton did not perceive Johnson as a threat. "She followed procedures as far as we are concerned," he said. After questioning Johnson at police headquarters, homicide detectives walked him into Central Lockup. Suspect's family stunned Clad in an orange Orleans Parish Prison jumpsuit, a handcuffed Johnson grumbled aloud about "the paparazzi." At one point, he grunted into a television reporter's microphone. In the aftermath of the murder, police officials told Cotton's relatives in Memphis of her death. Relatives were flying in late Monday, police said. As Cotton's family and members of the NOPD mourned late Monday, the alleged killer's family learned of his involvement. When first contacted by The Times-Picayune, Johnson's family said their relative was not the man arrested in the murder. Their Bernel Johnson did not have any rape or sexual assault convictions, they said. But after watching the evening news, the family was thrown for a loop. They said Johnson suffers delusions and has tried to kill himself several times, overdosing on pills and chemicals, and shooting himself in the chest. Their many efforts to institutionalize him would fail, with advocates such as social workers and attorneys saying they could do nothing unless he hurt somebody. And when he was institutionalized, Bernel Johnson wouldn't stay in for long. "He knows the system, and he knows what to say to get out," Timothy Johnson said. He said his brother would stay on his medication while incarcerated but then stop taking it when he was released. Johnson's family said he has been incarcerated for such crimes as vagrancy and disturbing the peace but never for anything more violent than assault or battery, they said. 'This is just atrocious' Near the scene of the shooting Monday morning, mechanic Tommy Christina watched paramedics put the officer on a stretcher. "Officers were screaming and yelling,"" Christina, 27, said. "They were coming from everywhere." A couple of doors down at a convenience store, manager Omar Farah shook his head in disgust. "We are killing our own cops," he said. "This is just atrocious." Within the past few days, Cotton had become a regular customer of the Magnolia Superette. The employees called her "ponytail" because of her hair style. Farah described Cotton as sweet, a polite woman with a badge. Typically, she ordered grits in the morning, he said. On Monday, she had a smoked sausage sandwich with cheese on toast. About 30 minutes later, paramedics rushed to the scene of her shooting. |
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