The National Guard and Memphis police officers were responding to a shots-fired call in downtown Memphis in the early hours of July 5 shortly before 4 a.m. local time. Officials previously said the officers and Guard members pursued an “armed male carrying a handgun” after seeing several people leaving the area. The National Guard has said Johnson turned toward the Guard members while holding his weapon.
According to the newly obtained autopsy, Johnson had a gunshot wound that entered the right side of his back and an exit wound on the upper right side of his chest. There was no gunshot stippling, soot, or muzzle imprint on the wound, indicating he was shot at range.
The cause of death was a gunshot wound, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. A death being ruled a homicide in an autopsy does not automatically mean it was a criminal act.
Officials said two members of the National Guard fired shots, but the autopsy only showed one gunshot wound. Officials have not said if he pointed the gun at the National Guard members.
The personal effects listed in the autopsy report included a “handgun magazine with rounds” but did not list a handgun.
A toxicology screen was done on Johnson’s blood and came back with “no positive findings” of drugs or alcohol in his system.
A large section of Union Avenue around Ida B. Wells was blocked off by law enforcment after a fatal shooting involving members of the National … Show more
Jack Armstrong/The Commercial Appeal
Why has the National Guard been in Memphis?
Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Darrin Haas previously said the National Guard was in the area as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, established by the Trump administration to combat crime in the city. Memphis is among several Democrat-led U.S. cities where the administration has deployed the National Guard, citing crime and protests, including Washington, DC, where they have been for a year.
“We’re going to make Memphis safe again,” Trump said at the time.
The National Guard has been patrolling the streets of Memphis both on its own and alongside law enforcement. Guard members are routinely seen at crime scenes. Many of them are military police and are mostly trained to enforce military law and defend military bases, vastly different training than Memphis police receive.
The shooting in July was the fourth shooting, and third fatal shooting, involving a member of the Task Force in Memphis, which also includes the FBI, Homeland Security and other federal forces.
It is not clear whether charges could be filed against the two National Guard members for the shooting. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said an investigation is “open and ongoing,” and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said a charging decision had not yet been made.
The National Guard did not respond to a request for comment from The Commercial Appeal.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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