No charges filed against Fayetteville officers who shot Jada Johnson 17 times in her own home

Wednesday, May 24, 2023
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Criminal charges will not be filed against Fayetteville officers in the case of Jada Johnson.

Johnson was shot 17 times by officers who were called to her home on Colgate Drive for a reported break-in on July 1, 2022.

Johnson's family said there was no break-in happening. Instead, Johnson was going through a mental health crisis. Her grandmother, Maria Iwanski, recalls her granddaughter being suicidal and asking police to take her to the hospital. Instead, officers moved to try and arrest her.

Police said Johnson had a gun and was a danger to her own grandmother, young daughter and officers at the scene. They said officers tried for nearly an hour to get Johnson to put the gun down.

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Attorney General Josh Stein announced Wednesday that his team agreed with investigators' assessment of what happened.

"After conducting a thorough review of this case, my Special Prosecutions Section has concluded that charges should not be filed in this case, and I agree. The evidence shows that the officers faced a deadly threat and acted reasonably in response. Therefore, no charges will be brought."

Stein went on to call Johnson's death in police custody a "tragedy." He said further review should be conducted to learn from this case and to improve police response in the future.

Stein also called for the body camera video in the case to be released to the public. Earlier this year, a Cumberland County judge ruled her family and representatives could see the video but not release or even speak about the videos.
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