Jerk
4/6/2006, 04:05 AM
Muskegon Chronicle
Monday, April 03, 2006
By Lisa Medendorp
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Bullets peppered the wall, ceiling and refrigerator in an incident late Saturday during which two Muskegon police officers fired shots at each other inside a McLaughlin Avenue home.
"Thankfully, nobody was hurt," said Director of Public Safety Tony Kleibecker, who has launched an internal investigation and has placed both officers on paid administrative leave.
Three people, including one of the residents, 21-year-old Nicholas Johnson, were in the basement of 772 McLaughlin when police burst through the front and rear doors.
"They thought the cops were going to shoot them," said the young man's father, Leo Johnson, 44. The elder Johnson and his girlfriend, who live in the house, were not home when the incident occurred, but arrived shortly afterward.
Leo Johnson said it turned out that "the cops were shooting at each other."
Kleibecker said the investigation is in the early stages, but confirmed the officers shot at each other.
Police were dispatched to the home just before midnight on a report of a possible kidnapping, Kleibecker said.
A male caller to Muskegon Central Dispatch "said he believed his ex-girlfriend was being held hostage in the residence," Kleibecker said. "He met the officers near the scene."
Officers knocked on the door and didn't get an answer, Kleibecker said.
Leo Johnson said his son wouldn't answer the door because he was wanted on a traffic-related warrant. Nicholas Johnson was in the home with a male friend and a young woman.
"The police knocked on the back and front doors and they knocked on the windows," Leo Johnson said, based on a conversation with his son. "They hollered out: 'Muskegon police. Let us in!' "
"My son still didn't let them in," he said, adding that the three were scared and went to the basement, where his son's bedroom is.
Kleibecker said officers at that point "apparently felt the woman was in grave danger and decided to attempt a forced entry through the front door and had some difficulty getting in."
The account from Leo Johnson also indicates police had problems with the front door, but that suddenly both doors were forced open about the same time.
Leo Johnson said one officer came in through the back door near the basement steps and entered the kitchen. Then, the three people downstairs heard the officers shooting, he said.
"I've got about 15 bullet holes in my wall, one in the ceiling, one through the closet, and they even shot through the refrigerator," Leo Johnson said.
Kleibecker said one officer fired a shot "thinking he was in danger from somebody with a gun." A second officer "returned fire in the direction of where that shot came from."
Kleibecker said "in excess of a dozen shots were fired," and that one of the officers finally yelled to stop firing.
He declined to identify the officers involved, pending the outcome of the internal investigation.
"There was never a kidnapping to the best of our knowledge," Kleibecker said.
"We are going to do a complete, thorough investigation," he said. "We need to understand what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent this from happening again."
He declined comment on what exactly the first officer saw that made him react by firing his weapon.
Leo Johnson said he rushed home when his son's ex-girlfriend came over to where he and his girlfriend were a few blocks away, crying and saying police were raiding the house and shots had been fired.
"I thought my kid was shot," he said.
Leo Johnson said officers prevented him from entering his home, saying it was a crime scene. "They went in and took pictures and said they were looking for guns," Leo Johnson said. "I told them there were no guns in the house." No guns were found. (Are guns illegal now?)
Nicholas Johnson was arrested on the traffic warrant and was bonded out the same day. His friend was arrested on a warrant not related to the incident.
Monday, April 03, 2006
By Lisa Medendorp
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Bullets peppered the wall, ceiling and refrigerator in an incident late Saturday during which two Muskegon police officers fired shots at each other inside a McLaughlin Avenue home.
"Thankfully, nobody was hurt," said Director of Public Safety Tony Kleibecker, who has launched an internal investigation and has placed both officers on paid administrative leave.
Three people, including one of the residents, 21-year-old Nicholas Johnson, were in the basement of 772 McLaughlin when police burst through the front and rear doors.
"They thought the cops were going to shoot them," said the young man's father, Leo Johnson, 44. The elder Johnson and his girlfriend, who live in the house, were not home when the incident occurred, but arrived shortly afterward.
Leo Johnson said it turned out that "the cops were shooting at each other."
Kleibecker said the investigation is in the early stages, but confirmed the officers shot at each other.
Police were dispatched to the home just before midnight on a report of a possible kidnapping, Kleibecker said.
A male caller to Muskegon Central Dispatch "said he believed his ex-girlfriend was being held hostage in the residence," Kleibecker said. "He met the officers near the scene."
Officers knocked on the door and didn't get an answer, Kleibecker said.
Leo Johnson said his son wouldn't answer the door because he was wanted on a traffic-related warrant. Nicholas Johnson was in the home with a male friend and a young woman.
"The police knocked on the back and front doors and they knocked on the windows," Leo Johnson said, based on a conversation with his son. "They hollered out: 'Muskegon police. Let us in!' "
"My son still didn't let them in," he said, adding that the three were scared and went to the basement, where his son's bedroom is.
Kleibecker said officers at that point "apparently felt the woman was in grave danger and decided to attempt a forced entry through the front door and had some difficulty getting in."
The account from Leo Johnson also indicates police had problems with the front door, but that suddenly both doors were forced open about the same time.
Leo Johnson said one officer came in through the back door near the basement steps and entered the kitchen. Then, the three people downstairs heard the officers shooting, he said.
"I've got about 15 bullet holes in my wall, one in the ceiling, one through the closet, and they even shot through the refrigerator," Leo Johnson said.
Kleibecker said one officer fired a shot "thinking he was in danger from somebody with a gun." A second officer "returned fire in the direction of where that shot came from."
Kleibecker said "in excess of a dozen shots were fired," and that one of the officers finally yelled to stop firing.
He declined to identify the officers involved, pending the outcome of the internal investigation.
"There was never a kidnapping to the best of our knowledge," Kleibecker said.
"We are going to do a complete, thorough investigation," he said. "We need to understand what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent this from happening again."
He declined comment on what exactly the first officer saw that made him react by firing his weapon.
Leo Johnson said he rushed home when his son's ex-girlfriend came over to where he and his girlfriend were a few blocks away, crying and saying police were raiding the house and shots had been fired.
"I thought my kid was shot," he said.
Leo Johnson said officers prevented him from entering his home, saying it was a crime scene. "They went in and took pictures and said they were looking for guns," Leo Johnson said. "I told them there were no guns in the house." No guns were found. (Are guns illegal now?)
Nicholas Johnson was arrested on the traffic warrant and was bonded out the same day. His friend was arrested on a warrant not related to the incident.