GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two weeks ago, when a Grand Rapids police officer fatally shot Da'Quain Johnson, a K9 was also present on the scene. In body and dash camera video released by the Grand Rapids Police Department, the dog appeared to be biting Johnson's arm while its handler and another officer commanded Johnson to let go of a suspected firearm.
Johnson, who was on the ground, was shot in the back by one of these officers seconds later and a gun was recovered from Johnson's body.
On Thursday, I spoke with a former K9 officer about the role and purpose of K9s and asked for his opinion on how one was used in the moments that preceded the 32-year-old's death.
"The K9 works as an extension of you," said Chris Ederesinghe, who was employed by the Milwaukee Police Department for nearly three decades and now owns Voden Investigations, a private investigation firm.
"When a K9 makes a mistake, it's typically on the shoulders of the handler. It's a dog. It's a tool," he said.
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After reviewing body and dash camera video from the shooting, Edersinghe said he thought the decision to deploy the K9 was "textbook."
"There's nothing I would have done differently," he said.
A day after the shooting, now-former Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said the K9 was used as a "less lethal" way of apprehending Johnson, who had abandoned a bike in the parking lot of an apartment complex after leading officers on a low speed chase through a neighborhood on the city's southeast side.
"[A K9] would be more appropriate in this case," said Winstrom, adding that a taser "would not" have been appropriate as Johnson was believed to have been armed.
To this end, officers commanded Johnson to "drop the gun" and "let it go" as the K9 appeared to be biting Johnson's left arm.
I asked Ederesinghe if the dog could have complicated Johnson's ability to comply.
"Absolutely," he said. "This is absolutely stressful and absolutely a distraction."
When one of the officers fired his gun at Johnson, Ederesinghe also said he was "surprised" the K9 was not injured.
"I mean, it was a very quick decision," he said. "A cop could have easily been shot."
READ MORE: How recent officer-involved shootings have been handled in Grand Rapids
Still, the former officer claimed it was Johnson's decisions that led to his death.
"Mr. Johnson made the decision not to stop for a legal traffic stop. Mr. Johnson then decided he was going to attempt to flee. Mr. Johnson has a lot of things going through his mind, but all these decisions were made by him," he said.
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Based on the publicly available body and dash camera video of the shooting, I asked Ederesinghe if he thought the actions of the officer who fired the fatal shot were justified.
"Absolutely, but I could be wrong," he said, claiming Johnson, armed, had detected and identified one of the officers as a target.
"That's called target acquisition and, at that point, he would have been justified to shoot that gentleman," he said.
Ederesinghe also stressed the "totality" of the incident, still under investigation by Michigan State Police, could not currently be known.
"Whatever I answer is based on the data that has been presented," he said.
On Tuesday, Michigan State Police turned in an initial report on the shooting to the Kent County Prosecutor's Office, to which Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker requested additional information.
In a statement from a spokesperson, the Grand Rapids Police Department said it was "committed to respecting the process with MSP and the Kent County Prosecutor."
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On Wednesday, Johnson was laid to rest as friends, family and community leaders gathered for his funeral at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church.
They continue to call the shooting unjustified.
"This community has a right to be asking questions. [Johnson's] mother has a right to be asking those unanswered questions," Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack said. "We hope she can get the questions and maybe even the justice she's looking for her son."
The Greater Grand Rapids NAACP has demanded the release of all body and dash camera video from the night of Johnson's death.
"Partial transparency erodes trust. Full transparency begins accountability. If the department is confident in its actions, there is no legitimate basis to withhold additional recordings from public review," the branch said in part. "The community deserves the complete record, and it deserves it now."
