Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sept. 16, 1995, p. 1B
Jury rules fatal shooting justified
An inquest finds that a police
officer's use of deadly force during
a knife attack was warranted.

By Carri Geer

Review-Journal


A Las Vegas police officer acted justifiably last month when he 
fatally shot a knife-wielding Utah man, the majority of a 
coroner's jury ruled Friday.


Jurors said they voted by way of secret ballot after listening to 
testimony at an inquest into the Aug. 23 death of 24-year-old 
Matthew Johnson.


Officer Dave Freeman, 27, said he fired his weapon twice that 
morning when the man lunged at him with a knife.


"I felt like he was going to attack me," the officer said. "At 
that point I was in fear for my life."


A verdict form asked the seven-member jury to classify the 
homicide as justifiable, excusable or criminal. Six jurors voted 
for justifiable homicide, and one voted for excusable homicide, 
after about 30 minutes of deliberation


Craig Schneider, a Salt Lake City attorney, said Johnson's mother 
retained him to review the case. Schneider attended the hearing 
for the victim's family and submitted numerous written questions 
for witnesses.


Jurors and members of the public are allowed to ask questions 
during coroner's inquests.


Schneider said Johnson resided in Kearns, Utah, and made a living 
by sewing. Schneider said the man came to Las Vegas with relatives 
to attend a buyers convention.


The attorney said he did not know why Johnson was on McCarran 
International Airport property at Reno Avenue and Koval Lane 
during the early-morning hours of Aug. 23, when a caller notified 
police about his suspicious behavior.


Schneider said Johnson had no history of mental illness, and 
toxicology reports determined he had no drugs or alcohol in his 
system.


Freeman and two other officers from the airport substation 
responded to the call and testified that Johnson refused to 
cooperate when they questioned him about his identity.


"He was speaking in this robotic, monotone voice," Freeman 
said.


Freeman, who has worked as a police officer for 2-1/2 years, said 
Johnson was carrying a black nylon bag and clutched it to his 
chest when the officer inquired about its contents. 


"He looked like somebody who had something to hide," Freeman 
said.


Each of the three police officers said Johnson's behavior worried 
them because of a recent order from Federal Aviation 
Administration officials placing airports nationwide on a 
heightened security status.


Freeman said he grabbed Johnson's arm to arrest him when he 
continued to disobey police commands.


"He became very stiff, and then he immediately took a swing at me 
with his left hand, the officer said.


Freeman said he ducked and lost his grip on the man, then pulled 
out his police baton. At that time, he testified, Johnson dropped 
to his right knee and pulled a long knife from under his left pant 
leg.


"As he stood up, I saw the gleam come off this blade," the officer 
said.


Officer Steve MacKenzie testified he fired pepper spray into 
Johnson's chest and face, but it failed to stop the man.


Freeman said he drew his gun and called in a "code red" on his 
portable radio. A "code red" clears the radio channel for 
emergency traffic. 


The officer said Johnson held the knife, which had a double-edged 
blade, in a "slashing grip." The officer said he repeatedly 
ordered the man to drop his weapon. 


Freeman said Johnson began lunging at him from a distance of 15 or 
16 feet and had closed the gap to between 8 and 10 feet when the 
officer fired two shots into the man's chest. 


"I felt like I had no other alternative," he said. 


Representatives of the district attorney's office played portions 
of a police training video for jurors during the inquest. The 
video tells officers they need at least 21 feet between them and a 
knife-wielding attacker to have enough reaction time to draw a 
weapon, fire two rounds and get out of the attacker's path. 
Officers need 10 feet if they already have drawn their gun, the 
video said. 


Crime scene analyst Debra McCracken said she found a wallet and a 
note pad in Johnson's black bag.


 Photo Caption: Las Vegas police officer Dave Freeman 
demonstrates before a coroner's jury how Matthew Johnson in August 
attacked him with a knife. During his testimony  on Friday, 
Freeman said that he was in fear for his life. The jury ruled that 
Freeman's fatal shooting of the Utah man was justifiable.