Judge tosses federal suit against Fayetteville cops in fatal shooting

A federal judge has ruled in favor of two Fayetteville police officers who were sued in connection with the fatal 2022 shooting of Jada Johnson. The ruling Tuesday ends a suit that had initially been filed against the officers and the city.

Sgt. Timothy Rugg and Officer and Officer Zacharius Borom were among the Fayetteville police who responded to an attempted home invasion call on July 1, 2022.

Once police arrived, Johnson told officers she had recently broken up with her boyfriend, according to the 15-page court order. She believed the ex-boyfriend was stalking her and meant to harm her and her family.

Borom had responded to a 911 call at the same home several days earlier. Johnson’s grandfather, who lived at the home, told Borom he believed Johnson had “paranoid schizophrenia.” She believed authorities, including police, were working for her ex-boyfriend, according to the court order. The grandfather also said he didn’t believe there had been any attempted break-in at the home. Borom recommended that the grandparents have Johnson involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.

Officers warned Johnson against making repeated 911 calls without evidence of a crime. Rugg asked Johnson if she had a mental health diagnosis. “She appeared offended,” according to the court order, and became “agitated and combative.” She eventually pulled a gun from her waistband, threatened to kill herself, and pointed the gun at Rugg at one point “for approximately 30 seconds.”

The sergeant eventually lunged for the gun, leading both he and Johnson to fall to the floor “as they grappled for the weapon.” Borom fired seven shots, hitting Johnson. Johnson reached again for the gun, prompting another struggle with Rugg. Borom fired nine more shots as Rugg pulled the gun from Johnson. She died at the scene.

Johnson’s grandparents sued on behalf of her estate and her daughter. The suit featured claims of excessive force, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent execution of official duties, assault, and battery.

“Johnson’s acts immediately preceding the shooting were severe,” US District Judge Terrence Boyle wrote while granting summary judgment to the officers. “Misuse of 911 is a somewhat benign offense, but it is not the one at issue here. The acts giving rise to the shooting were pointing a gun at Officer Rugg and, when Rugg sought to take the gun from her, fighting him aggressively to maintain control of the gun. ‘No citizen can fairly expect to draw a gun on police without risking tragic consequences.’”

Officers had probable cause to believe Johnson posed an immediate threat to Rugg. “If it were not enough that Johnson pointed her gun at Rugg, fought him to retain control of the gun, and then after dropping the gun, reached to regain control of the gun, then a review of Johnson’ s conduct throughout the evening would support the officers’ belief that she posed an immediate threat,” Boyle wrote.

“Johnson displayed volatile and unstable behavior,” the judge explained. “She suspected Borom and Rugg were fake police officers working for her ex-boyfriend. Further, she explicitly stated that she expected the defendants to kill her that night, and that she wanted to have a shootout. While she demonstrated some suicidal ideation, at other times she represented a desire to escape danger, and expressed anger with people whom she believed had endangered her.”

“Even if Johnson was not entirely lucid, she had expressed both a tendency for self-preservation and a suspicion that the officers meant to kill her,” Boyle wrote. “The officers had probable cause to believe that Johnson, having those beliefs and wielding a firearm, posed an immediate threat.”

Boyle rejected the argument that Borom’s final shots amounted to excessive force. “The first round of bullets did not deter Johnson from reaching for her gun,” the judge wrote. “Borom acted reasonably in continuing to shoot during the matter of seconds it took for Rugg to gain complete control of the gun and safeguard it from Johnson. The Eleventh Circuit has described this very circumstance, holding that an officer was ‘not required to interrupt a volley of bullets until he knew that [the suspect] had been disarmed.’”

“Because the officers’ use of force did not violate the Fourth Amendment, they acted with qualified immunity,” Boyle ruled. “In addition to their qualified immunity defense, the defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law because no constitutional violation occurred.”

The judge rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that officers failed to call in Fayetteville’s crisis intervention team. “They argue that this is precisely the scenario for which the crisis intervention team exists, and the Fayetteville Police Department policy imposes a duty on officers to call CIT in order to seek specialized assistance for callers experiencing mental health crises,” Boyle wrote. “However, the police department policy gives responding officers the discretion to determine whether CIT is necessary or not.”

“Borom and Rugg recognized Johnson’s volatile mental state and responded with tailored suggestions,” the court order continued. “They urged her family to have her involuntarily committed and urged Johnson to voluntarily commit herself. Indeed, at their suggestion, Johnson agreed to be voluntarily committed, and the officers called her an ambulance. These acts were all directed at obtaining mental health assistance for Johnson. The officers reasonably determined that calling CIT was unnecessary when they had convinced Johnson to be voluntarily committed.”

“Defendants acted within the scope of their authority and are therefore entitled to public official immunity on the state claims asserted against them,” the judge concluded.

“Judge tosses federal suit against Fayetteville cops in fatal shooting” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.