Joshua Johnson

People

Joshua Johnson

Outcome

unknown

On April 22, 2020, Joshua Johnson, a 35-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by an undercover member of the Gulf Coast Task Force in La Marque, Texas. Johnson had been watching a neighbor's home on East Ritter Circle while she was in the hospital. At the same time, unbeknownst to Johnson, an undercover deputy was staking out the area for a murder suspect from Dallas County. At approximately 6:00 AM, Johnson approached the unmarked vehicle with the flashlight on his phone turned on and a BB gun in his hand. According to officials, words were exchanged, Johnson lowered his flashlight, raised his BB gun at the deputy, and the deputy fired at least two shots from inside his vehicle, killing Johnson. Johnson's parents have maintained that their son may have been killed in a case of mistaken identity. They pointed out that Johnson was simply trying to protect a neighbor's property and had no way of knowing that the person sitting in an unmarked car was law enforcement. The sheriff's office stated that the BB gun looked like a Glock handgun. Neither a body camera nor a dash camera was used by the deputy because he was working undercover. The family, alongside Congressman Al Green, made renewed pleas for the case to go to a grand jury. They released surveillance video that they claimed showed the deputy driving away after the shooting instead of calling for help. The family attorney stated they could not obtain the ballistics report and complained of a lack of transparency in the investigation. As of the available information, the case remained under review, with Johnson's family continuing to seek answers and accountability for his death.