Trooper shooting of driver probed
Fitchburg man on life support
FITCHBURG -- A state trooper shot and critically injured a 30-year-old man early yesterday after an apparently routine traffic stop on a residential street turned violent, authorities said.
A lawyer for the State Police union said preliminary evidence indicated that the man drove a car at the trooper and a Fitchburg police officer and that the trooper fired in self-defense.
Preston D. Johnson of Fitchburg was on life support last night at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, with doctors awaiting the arrival of his mother from Mississippi before removing the equipment, family members said.
The officer, who was not identified, was hospitalized with a minor hand injury, said authorities. Investigators yesterday released few details about the shooting. ''It's going to take us a little time before I get all the facts in hand," said Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte.
Timothy M. Burke, the lawyer for the State Police Association of Massachusetts who represents the trooper and has been briefed by officials with knowledge of the investigation, said early evidence showed that the trooper and an accompanying Fitchburg officer found themselves in the path of Johnson's oncoming car. The trooper, he said, fired to protect himself and the other officer.
''He had to move out of the way to avoid being injured more seriously, and the vehicle went in the direction of a Fitchburg police officer when the shot was fired," said Burke.
Prosecutors have charged Johnson with several crimes, including two counts of assault with intent to murder the officers.
According to state records, Johnson spent four years in prison for shooting at two Fitchburg State students in 1996. Also, he has a lengthy driving record, with numerous speeding citations. The Registry of Motor Vehicles deemed him an ''immediate threat" and suspended his license indefinitely in June after police cited him for speeding and failing to obey an officer, state records showed.
Family members speculated that Johnson tried to flee the traffic stop yesterday morning because he feared his sport utility vehicle would be impounded when the trooper discovered he lacked a valid license.
''He didn't stop because he didn't have a driver's license. Just because you run from the police doesn't mean that they can take your life," said Johnson's stepsister Larissa Brennan. ''I don't understand what the police were thinking."
Distraught family members gathered outside UMass Memorial, confused about the tragic turn of events and suspicious of the official explanation. They described Johnson as a once-troubled youth trying to turn his life around, a handsome rogue with a wide circle of friends.
''He'll light up your life, I'll tell you that. He's beautiful, very handsome," said his sister Joyce Johnson.
Preston Johnson was close to completing barber school in Worcester and preparing to open a barber shop in the Cleghorn neighborhood of Fitchburg, said friends and relatives.
The shooting occurred about 2 a.m. According to two witnesses, Johnson's SUV had been stopped in the northbound lane of Salem Street at the Spruce Street intersection. A witness saw the trooper standing next to the driver's side door of Johnson's car when Johnson apparently tried to put his car in gear. Seconds later, both witnesses said, they heard what they believe was a single gunshot.
Susan Miner said she was sitting in her home on the second floor watching a movie when she heard an unexpected sound the sound.
''I heard a popping sound," said Miner, ''and then I saw the blue lights."
Miner said she looked out the window and saw Johnson's car against a retaining wall in front of a house. She said rescue workers pulled Johnson from the car through a passenger door.
She said she also saw the trooper who she believes fired the shot being comforted by fellow officers.
''He looked in distress," said Miner. ''He looked shaken up."
State Police are not permitted to shoot at moving vehicles unless ''any occupant uses or threatens to use immediate lethal force," according to a 1997 State Police general order that governs firearm use.
Conte said his investigators will interview the trooper, who has been placed on paid administrative leave, as well as the Fitchburg officer and witnesses today to try to determine how the shooting occurred.
It remains unclear exactly what occurred after the trooper stopped Johnson. Johnson's relatives said yesterday that he had been shot in the head, but authorities would not confirm that.
''He's a good kid. I love him. He had a lot of friends," said Joyce Johnson.
''Why did they shoot him in the head?"
Globe correspondent Franci Richardson Ellement contributed to this report. 