Officer dies 30 years after gun shot wound!

[MPI1]

September 15, 2010
Ga. cop dies of 30-year-old gunshot wound
The officer was partially paralyzed from the gunshot wound and had to cut his career short due to extreme pain

By PoliceOne Staff

CARROLLTON, Ga. — Officer Jimmy Johnson succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained almost 30 years earlier as he and two other officers questioned an armed man.

The suspect had come into town with $20,000 in cash in preparation to conduct a large drug deal. As the man and a female acquaintance were watching a movie prior to the drug deal someone broke into the man's truck and stole the money.

The female alerted a gas station clerk that the man was armed with a shotgun and asked the clerk to call the police. Officer Johnson and two other officers located the suspect behind a the First Tuesday Mall and blocked his truck in with their patrol cars.

Both occupants of the truck exited the vehicle and the officers recovered the shotgun from inside the truck. After speaking for a few moments the man pulled out a .38 caliber revolver and attempted to escape, holding Officer Johnson hostage.

The man retook possession of the shotgun and started walking Officer Johnson away from the scene. A struggle ensued and the suspect shot Officer Johnson in the back with the .38 caliber revolver, severely wounding him. The suspect was shot and wounded in the ensuing shootout with the other officers and taken into custody.

Officer Johnson was partially paralyzed from the gunshot wound. He worked for months to learn to walk again but was only able to return to work as a Police Officer for a short time due to the extreme pain he suffered from the gunshot. He left the force in August 1983 and was awarded the departments two highest medals, the Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart.

Officer Johnson passed away from the wound on May 26, 2010. His death was ruled a homicide by the county coroner from the effects of the gunshot wound sustained on November 11, 1980.

At the time of the shooting, Officer Johnson had served with the Carrollton Police Department for just under four years. He is survived by his wife

Ga. cop dies of 30-year-old gunshot wound

[MikeG]

is the shooter still alive? Can they charge him with murder?

[Creeker]

is the shooter still alive? Can they charge him with murder?

Interesting question.

I can tell you he couldn't be tried for the same crime twice, but I'm wondering if he could be charged Federally with violating the Cops civil rights ...or something... if the criminal is still around.

[MikeG]

Interesting question.

I can tell you he couldn't be tried for the same crime twice, but I'm wondering if he could be charged Federally with violating the Cops civil rights ...or something... if the criminal is still around.

I thought some states had double jeopardy exclusions for murder? I remember reading a year and a day though as a pretty common standard (meaning if subject tried and convicted for lesser included offense of assault/battery and the victim died within a year and a day, the subject can be retried for murder). the exception only applied to murder cases though.

[retdetsgt]

I thought some states had double jeopardy exclusions for murder?

States can't override the Constitution. Double jeopardy is prohibited by the 5th Amendment.

[MikeG]

States can't override the Constitution. Double jeopardy is prohibited by the 5th Amendment.

That's what I would have thought. I don't think Arizona has delayed death as an exception. But apparently it is available in other states. I thought once a set of facts has been judged, it was over. Below is an example from NY of all places. Man tries to murder g/f, G/F survives the attack. Man pleads guilty to Attempted Murder. Court accepts plea which is when double jeopardy attachment applied. G/F dies 9 months later. Under New York law, they were allowed to retry him for murder on the same circumstances even though he had already plead guilty of a lesser offense. Apparently for any other offense, it would not have been allowed. He appealed on double jeopardy and lost. Furthermore, his confesion to the attempted murder for the plea deal was admissible in his murder trial. I have no idea how this is justified but it seems the rules are complex (it's almost like lawyers got ahold of the constitution and spruced it up wth all sort of lawyers stuff ). I presume the rules for when double jeopardy attaches (jury empanelment, plea acceptance, etc) and what court actions can undo the attachment (e.g. defense misconduct, hung jury, vacated verdicts, etc) are statutory? Dunno. I also don't know if there was any follow on rulings. In NY, I think there was a time limit to when the victim died so in this case it was relatively short. I don't think retrial after 20 years is allowed. Anyone from NY know if this is still the law?

State Court Rejects New Appeal in Murder Trial - NYTimes.com

Another example I read was a subject agrees to testify in exchange for plea. He testifies and the plea agreement is executed. The person he testifies against later has his conviction thrown out. In the next trial, he refuses to testify. His plea was vacated and he was tried and convicted on a more serious charge.

[greg72982]

Well considering the first time the suspect wasnt tried for murder, (maybe attempted murder), I believe you could now bring a murder charge using the same evidence and wouldn't be double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is being tried twice for the same crime. Am I correct in this old grizzled vets?

[MikeG]

Well considering the first time the suspect wasnt tried for murder, (maybe attempted murder), I believe you could now bring a murder charge using the same evidence and wouldn't be double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is being tried twice for the same crime. Am I correct in this old grizzled vets?

Oooh. i found this.
http://lawweb.usc.edu/why/students/o...0Checklist.doc

As I read it, usually a conviction of a lesser offense bars retrial of greater offense. Greater offenses are treated as acquittals for that evidence. And more subtley, a hung jury would still mean acquittal of the greater offense. Example given was Joy Riding and Car Theft. If you charge for Joy Riding and get a conviction, you can't then charge with car theft because it's considered the same crime. Moreover, once the Joy Riding jury is empanelled, you can ever charge for the higher offense. As I read it, a hung jury means you can retry on the Joy Riding but you can't refile as a Car Theft because that would be considered double jeopardy since Car Theft was treated as an acquittal at the first trial even though the jury hung on the Joy Riding charge. Kinda makes sense but seems there will be lots and lots of room for arguing.

[greg72982]

Oooh. i found this.
http://lawweb.usc.edu/why/students/o...0Checklist.doc

As I read it, usually a conviction of a lesser offense bars retrial of greater offense. Greater offenses are treated as acquittals for that evidence.

I see this:

o lesser offense bars retrial for greater included offense(s)
 Except: ∆ is tried for batter and then victim dies. ∆ may be tried for murder.

The "except" to me is a similar situation to this one and thus could be done.

[madchiken]

In 2001, I watched the autopsy of a homicide victim that had been shot during the Vietnam War. He died during his umteenth surgery to remove more of his intestines.

[RockemSockem]

I don't have all the details off the top of my head, but I do know that Cuyahoga County, Ohio prosecutors have tried several cases where someone punched someone 10 years earlier (or stabbed/shot/otherwise assulted them)and they subsequently died due to what doctors said was complications directly resulting out of the assult 10 years earlier. I'm not sure what the outcome of those cases was, but I know they made it to trial.