Skip to main content

EXCESSIVE FORCE CASE INVOLVING WHITE OFF-DUTY LRPD NON-RESIDENT OFFICER HEADS TO TRIAL

An attorney for two men who were shot by police in Park Plaza mall's parking deck in late 2011 has asked a federal judge to allow a trial over the shooting to proceed next month as scheduled.

Last month, attorneys for the city and the mall asked U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson to grant summary judgment to them and dismiss the case. They argued that the plaintiffs' excessive-force allegations against officer Christopher Johannes, who was working as off-duty security for the mall, are unsupported by the facts.

CHRISTOPHER JOHANNES - ONE OF MANY WHITE OFFICERS THAT REFUSE TO LIVE IN LITTLE ROCK DUE TO CRIME AND SCHOOLS

But attorney Willard Proctor Jr., who represents the two men who were wounded by Johannes' bullets and another who was with them but escaped injury, insisted in a written response that there are factual disputes about the shooting that must be decided by a jury.




WILLARD PROCTOR

"At best, when he fired his gun, he only knew that a white female had been approached by a black male or males," Proctor wrote. "Armed with that, he fired his duty weapon in the Park Plaza Mall parking lot supposedly to stop a threat which he created when he approached the car."

As a result, Keith Pettus, a front-seat passenger in a car being backed out of a parking space, was shot in the face, and the driver, Joseph P. Williams, was shot in the back. Johnnie Campbell, who was in the back seat, escaped injury.

Proctor wrote that "the bullet is still lodged in Mr. Pettus' face. Mr. Williams continues to suffer from his wounds. Summary judgment should not be granted in this case because genuine issues of material fact remain to be litigated."

The shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2011, as Johannes approached the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu, which was in a parking space on the mall's lower level. Police said Johannes was assisting mall security officers to whom a shopper had reported that the men asked her 17-year-old daughter to get in the car with them.

The city contends that Johannes fired 12 shots at the Malibu because it was backing out of the space at high speed after Johannes told the driver to stop. Johannes feared that he and an unarmed mall security officer, Sara Hawkins, were in the path of the fleeing vehicle and might be struck, the city contends.
 

The car then changed direction and crashed into a wall of the parking deck, and the three men got out and ran, police said. This was despite Williams having been shot four times in the back and Pettus being grazed by a bullet on his face, according to court documents.

Johannes apprehended Williams and the other two men stopped running, the city has acknowledged. Attorneys for the city say the reason Williams tried to back out quickly after seeing the uniformed officer and the security officer approach was because he had drugs and guns in the car.

Police found two plastic bags of cocaine and about $2,400 cash during a pat-down of Williams, and Xanax, other pills and two pistols inside the car, they reported.

Proctor argued that Johannes' actions that day "were not objectively reasonable. He did not have probable cause to shoot 12 times."

He also argued that Johannes put himself in a dangerous position in the way he approached the backing-out car, and that there are questions "about the sufficiency of the warning that Officer Johannes gave to Joseph Williams."

After his release from the hospital, Williams pleaded guilty to drug and gun charges, and was returned to prison. Now 36, he remains in prison, according to electronic records at the Arkansas Department of Correction. The records say he won't be eligible for parole until 2023.

JOSEPH P. WILLIAMS - INMATE #136164

A jury trial is scheduled 10/9/2018 at 9:30 AM in Little Rock Courtroom # A401 before Judge Billy Roy Wilson.

Popular posts from this blog

Bryant High School teacher accused of sexual misconduct with a student

The Bryant Police Department confirms an on-going investigation of a now former Bryant teacher, Heather Danielle (Hall) Hare. Hare (age 32) has been accused of sexual contact with a student.  Hare was featured on ABC Good Morning America in May 2020 when a course she taught was discontinued during the pandemic. At this point no details of the alleged illegal conduct have been released. Earlier today the school district posted this on a Bryant Schools Facebook page. According to on-line school board records, Hare submitted her resignation effective April 1, 2023.     Hare is married and is a resident of Conway, AR. KATV featured the Hare family in another story on October 31, 2022. Stay tuned for updates. KTHV featured Hare's daughter in several newscasts . ### ***UPDATE 04/06/23*** Bryant PD provided us with their initial report dated March 31, 2023. ***UPDATE 04/07/23*** Sources report that the Bryant High School football player involved in an "entanglement"

Disgraced ex-LRPD cop and felon lied on her employment application to get job with Arkansas State Police

In 2009, Sheva Howard was a Little Rock cop. She began working at LRPD in 2001 as a Crime Scene Specialist and in 2003 she became a police officer. Howard also worked off-duty, in her LRPD uniform, at Dillard's until she was caught in an act of thievery.  Howard purchased one purse, but it was in a bag so heavy she had to drag it on the ground. That bag was later found to have multiple purses packed into another purse. That incident also ended her career as a cop and gained her a felony conviction.   The LRPD Internal Investigation file reads like a script from an episode of Law & Order.   Howard was found to be untruthful during the internal investigation.   Here's what the local newspaper published about her criminal trial. Howard's supervisor at Dillard's was Willie Robinson. It just so happened that Robinson was and is also an Arkansas State Trooper.   Howard tried to have her conviction overturned but the Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld her conviction.   After

Three LRPD cops "relieved of duty" over incident at Club Trois

Sources at LRPD have confirmed a tip we received that three LRPD cops, Brad Stewart, Lee Pitts and Justin Sims have been "relieved of duty" in connection with an incident at Club Trois. The story we were told is that Stewart was working off-duty at Club Trois and dealt with an inebriated female club patron by soaking her with pepper spray.  LRPD General Order  ("G.O.") 303 requires that a cop that uses physical force, non-lethal control and compliance devices, on or off-duty, follow certain procedures. Use of pepper spray is a Level 4 event. Here are the specific procedures. LRPD sources tell us that they are trained to call MEMS after they use pepper spray or a taser on an individual. They are to file an incident report and they file an officer's report or letter form (5600-2) with their immediate supervisor for each use of force incident. Here's an example of an officer letter form.   Not a single procedure was followed in this incident. And to make matter