'Today is a march towards justice': Family of Fayetteville woman killed by officer files suit
In an emotional press conference Friday morning, the family of a woman shot 17 times by a Fayetteville police officer announced they have filed a federal lawsuit in her death and called for accountability.
Jada Johnson, 22, was killed July 1 by Officer Zacharius Borom in her grandfather’s Colgate Drive living room after police were called to the home on a report of an attempted break-in. Johnson’s grandparents, Rick and Elena Iwanski, said their granddaughter was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the shooting. The Fayetteville Police Department claimed Johnson posed a threat to officers on the scene.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, according to Harry Daniels, a civil rights attorney who is representing Johnson’s family in the case. The suit names Borom, the city of Fayetteville and Sgt. Timothy Rugg, who was also present when the shooting occurred, as defendants, Daniels said Friday.
“Today is a march towards justice, a march towards recourse of trying to do our best to right a wrong that we can never really get right because we can never really go back in time and stop those 17 bullets from mutilating the body of Jada Johnson,” he said.
The State Bureau of Investigation completed its probe into the shooting last fall and turned the case over to the Special Prosecution division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s office. Daniels said that office is still investigating. The Attorney General's office could not be reached Friday due to the long Easter weekend.
Xavier de Janon, a Charlotte-based attorney who is also part of the family’s legal team, said Fayetteville police were familiar with Johnson, having responded to multiple calls throughout the week of July 1 as Johnson’s mental health deteriorated.
As de Janon detailed the moment Johnson was shot, Johnson's grandparents began to cry.
“They unloaded one round of bullets and shot at her multiple times,” de Janon said. “While she was on the floor bleeding to death, they decided to shoot at her again, a total of 17 gunshot wounds, and she died in that moment.”
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In a prepared statement, Rick Iwanski thanked the legal team and said the allegations in the lawsuit will prove shocking to those who read it.
“I had to stop several times when I reviewed this document the other day. So much horror,” he said. “You cannot believe such a thing can happen today in this country.”
At one point in his statement, Iwanski's comments were directed at Mayor Mitch Colvin and members of the City Council, requesting they decline to cover the cost to defend the officers in the lawsuit. Councilman Mario Benavente was the only member of city government at the news conference.
“We implore you to refuse these men any relief, comfort or succor at taxpayer expense,” he said. “You can confidently set aside the obligations of agency, secure in the knowledge they violated your procedures and manipulated the situation to its horrible outcome.”
Related: 'They did not have to do this': Fayetteville woman shot 17 times by police, autopsy says
De Janon said that two days before the shooting, Johnson was involuntarily committed after suffering a mental breakdown stemming from attempts to leave an abusive boyfriend The lawsuit states, Johnson was admitted at Cape Fear Valley Hospital. De Janon said that on the night of the shooting, Johnson believed her ex-boyfriend was looking for her and wanted to harm her and her family, so she called 911, De Janon said.
According to de Janon’s account of the events, Johnson asked to be taken to the hospital, but officers allegedly told paramedics to “get out.” Eventually, he said, the officers told Johnson she would be arrested for misuse of 911. Throughout the conversation, he said, Johnson remained calm but “looked like a zombie."
More than an hour into the encounter, Johnson grabbed a pistol and pointed it at her head, saying that she did not want to live anymore, de Janon said. At that point, he said, officers put their hands on their firearms, and Johnson put the weapon down. Johnson and the officers had been speaking for several minutes after the tense exchange when officers “suddenly” tackled Johnson and shot her, de Janon said.
Iwanski, who witnessed the shooting along with his wife and Johnson’s toddler, said he saw everything that night.
“What I saw was murder and escalation,” he said. “There was a total lack of humanity and compassion.”
Related: 'She was not in her right mind': Frantic 911 calls released in Jada Johnson shooting
Iwanski cried as he recalled his granddaughter’s death and at one point had to step away from the podium.
Daniels said the lawsuit speaks for itself.
“Everything in this complaint is 100% true,” he said.
As for officers’ body camera footage, which is subject to a gag order preventing Johnson’s family and legal team from speaking about its contents, the Police Department’s decision not to release it is not an accident, Daniels said.
Attorneys for the city of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Police Department could not be reached for comment Friday due to the long Easter weekend.
Public safety reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville woman's family files federal suit in police killing
