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Jamee Johnson family attorney says federal lawsuit will be filed 'soon' following release of JSO body cam video in shooting death

During the Wednesday news conference, Daniels said Johnson's firearm was inside his vehicle wrapped up in his jacket at the time of the shooting.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The attorney for the family of Jamee Johnson, Harry Daniels, said a federal lawsuit will be filed following the release of JSO body camera video which showed the deadly December shooting incident.

During the Wednesday news conference, Daniels said Johnson's firearm was inside his vehicle wrapped up in his jacket at the time of the shooting.

This information comes after body camera footage was released to the public by the State's Attorney's Office and ruled the police shooting of Johnson justified.

”We find it very troubling and a dereliction of duty on behalf of the State Attorney’s Office not to investigate the accounts of an eyewitness and to allow the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to investigate their own officer-involved shootings," Daniels said.

The State Attorneys Office released the following statement in regard to the above statement:

“The only witness who claims this is Jamee Johnson’s first cousin, Kevin Haynes.  Haynes denied seeing anything when first contacted by the police just hours after the shooting and his statements were captured on body-worn camera.  Haynes’ present claims are completely contradicted by Officer Graham’s body-worn camera footage.

We recognize the Johnson family is distressed about the death of their son. Our office has kept them and their lawyers apprised of the status of our investigation since it began on December 14, 2019. We stand by our investigation.  Our report and all of the evidence giving rise to our findings is now widely available to the public.”

The Johnson family was also present during the meeting where they said they will continue to fight for justice for their son.

Daniels said he plans to file the lawsuit on behalf of the Johnson family against all those involved in the death of Johnson and the lawsuit would be filed soon. He did not disclose what the suit would include or who it would be against.

Johnson is the 22-year-old Florida A&M student shot and killed by police on Dec. 14, 2019, after he was pulled over for a seat belt violation.

The roughly 10-minute video is compiled from body-worn cameras of three Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers, two of whom were present during the traffic stop and shooting. The video was released following a review by the State Attorney’s Office, also released Monday, which deemed the shooting justified.

His father Harry was asked why he would continue to fight for his son.  He told reporters, "Even though he made bad decisions that day, that's not grounds for an execution. We will keep fighting for him until the end." 

WARNING: The video link below contains graphic images and language that some may find disturbing

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Credit: Courtesy: Johnson family
Jamee Johnson, 22, a FAMU student, was shot to death by a JSO officer Saturday during a traffic stop. The family says he was pulled over for a seat belt violation.

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