Stein said in the release that 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.”
Johnson, 22, was killed July 1, 2022, when police went to the Colgate Drive home of her grandfather Rick Iwanski after Johnson and her grandparents repeatedly called 911 reporting her estranged boyfriend was attempting to break into the home. An official said that when officers arrived on the scene, they found no evidence supporting the allegations. The family said that instead, the officers threatened Johnson with arrest.
The family contends the young mother was in the throes of a mental health crisis — having been committed to the hospital two days prior for treatment and released just hours earlier — when she pulled a gun out and threatened to harm herself.
Search warrants state officers feared for their safety, as well as that of her grandfather, infant daughter and grandmother when Sgt. Timothy Rugg tackled Johnson and Officer Zacharias Borom shot her 17 times, killing her in front of her family.
The attorney general called Johnson’s death a tragedy and said mental health workers responding with officers to calls like Johnson’s could have helped.
“Even when criminal charges are not appropriate, we should always ask whether anything could have been done differently that may have resulted in a better outcome. I urge that a sentinel event review, which is designed to better understand and learn from officer-involved shootings, be conducted in this case,” Stein said. “It is possible that a co-responder model that pairs social workers and other mental health experts with police officers could have helped better address the reason for a call.
“Finally, I call for the body camera footage recorded at the scene to be released in the interest of transparency to the people”
Stein also addressed the “proliferation of guns in the wrong hands.”
“It is not known how Ms. Johnson came into possession of her gun, but red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of people experiencing mental health issues who pose a risk to themselves or others would go a long way in keeping us all safer,” he said.
The North Carolina Department of Justice’s Special Prosecutions Section took over the case on Oct. 14, 2022, at the request of Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West. The Special Prosecutions Section is available to prosecute or assist in prosecutions when district attorney offices face issues of conflict or resource constraints.