GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Family, friends and loved ones gathered Wednesday morning to pay their final respects to Da'Quain Johnson, the 32-year-old who was shot by a Grand Rapids police officer two weeks ago.
More than 150 people packed inside Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church for a public service, all showing their support for Johnson's family. His mother expressed her appreciation for the love shared with her.
The funeral came two weeks to the day after Johnson was pursued by officers through the city's southeast side, after the department said those officers tried to stop him. Johnson was shot during a struggle. He later died from his injuries.
GRPD released a limited amount of video from the officer's body camera, in which an officer can be heard yelling, "he has a gun." The department also shared a photo of a gun detectives recovered at the scene.
Many of Johnson's loved ones said they are still in shock.
"I couldn't believe what I had seen. You know, I lived close to where the incident happened, so I could hear all the sirens," Tonia Saffore said.
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"This community has a right to be asking questions. His mother has a right to be answered, asking those unanswered questions, and we hope that she can get the questions and maybe even the justice that she's looking for for her son," Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack said.
"Definitely after today, justice starts tomorrow," Da'Quain Johnson's mother Angelica Johnson said.
I reached out to Michigan State Police for an update on the investigation into the shooting. An MSP spokesperson confirmed to me that detectives handed their findings over to the Kent County Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker explains that he has asked for more information from MSP’s investigation.
There is no word on how long the prosecutor will need to review the findings and decide whether the shooting was justified, or if the officers involved should face criminal charges.
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