BCA: Man exchanged gunfire before fatal shooting by St. Paul police; family demands answers

Surveillance video shows that a St. Paul police sergeant exchanged gunfire with the man shot and killed during a confrontation Monday night, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The BCA identified Sgt. Cody Blanshan as the officer who fired at 24-year-old Howard Peter Johnson, while releasing details of the encounter they say was captured on surveillance, body camera and squad camera footage.

The BCA, which is investigating the shooting, also formally identified Johnson.

Johnson, who is Black, was identified earlier by family members. On Wednesday, they called for the release of any and all footage related to his death.

According to the BCA:

Police responded just after 6 p.m. Monday to reports of a domestic assault near Earl Street and Hudson Road after the caller reported that a man, later identified as Johnson, was armed. Soon after, a woman not connected to the alleged assault was leaving a business on Hudson Road and got into her car. The woman told BCA agents Johnson approached the car and pointed a gun at her as she was pulling out.

Blanshan and another St. Paul officer were parked in a squad car nearby serving as part of the perimeter to the domestic assault call. Surveillance video showed Blanshan, who was driving the squad, strike Johnson in the back and side with the vehicle, knocking him to the ground.

"Johnson got up, and the video appears to show an exchange of gunfire between him and Blanshan, during which Johnson was struck," the BCA said in a news release. "He fell to the ground, dropping his gun" before officers handcuffed him and provided aid for wounds to his leg and torso. Johnson was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital.

Asked who appears to fire first in the video, a BCA spokesperson said that "agents are still reviewing the footage to determine the exact timeline of events."

A .45-caliber Glock pistol and three .45 bullet casings were recovered at the scene, along with 10 9mm casings consistent with Blanshan's department-issued handgun.

According to his personnel file, Blanshan is a 10-year veteran of law enforcement who has been disciplined twice for minor traffic accidents and earned four commendations during his time with the St. Paul Police Department. His commendations included two thank-you letters and a letter of recognition from former Chief Todd Axtell.

The BCA said it would not release body camera, squad car and surveillance footage until the case is closed and fully adjudicated. St. Paul police can release body camera footage before then.

Demand for answers

Johnson's mother, brother, aunts and family members on Wednesday demanded the footage of Johnson's fatal run-in with police. With the family gathered in the lobby of St. Paul's East Side Freedom Library, Monique Johnson cried as she talked about her son, who she remembered as a kind person always ready to help family.

"I want the video footage from the businesses that were there, from the cop's cams, from the dashboard footage, I want it all. I'm entitled to that. That is my child. I deserve to know what happened to him," Johnson said. "I want justice for my child. I want justice for all the Black men that have been killed by police."

St. Paul police Sgt. Mike Ernster said that the police chief and mayor are "committed to releasing the video as soon as possible. We will work with the BCA to determine an appropriate time for that to occur."

St. Paul police released footage 10 days after the 2019 fatal shooting of Ronald Davis and 12 days after the fatal shooting of William Hughes. Both men were armed, and charges were not filed against the officers involved.

Kenneth Manning, Johnson's stepfather, said he was told by the BCA that it could take up three months before they release the footage.

"We need [Mayor Carter] to move now," said Toshira Garroway, founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. "We're in a state of emergency here in the state of Minnesota with these killings of Black men. We can no longer trust the police narrative. That is the place that we're at, and we have to face that."

Howard's older brother, Keith, remembered his sibling as someone who would drop anything to care for his family. His aunt, Tonya Medvec, said that she has trouble sleeping, and her kids are afraid to go to school. And Johnson leaves behind two sons who loved him deeply through "good, bad and ugly." To support them and to help pay for Howard's funeral costs, Johnson's family started a fundraiser.

Johnson's death comes less than a month after the appointment of the city's new police chief, St. Paul native and department veteran Axel Henry, who has yet to speak publicly about the shooting.

Responses to police shootings under former Police Chief Todd Axtell walked a line between disciplining officers and defending them, garnering support from the community without alienating the police force.

The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office filed a warrant for Howard Johnson's arrest Sept. 23 after he didn't show up for a court hearing in connection with a felony domestic assault charge from March. The charge alleged that Johnson hit his girlfriend in the face while she was driving in St. Paul. The criminal complaint noted that up to the time of the alleged assault, Johnson had seven previous convictions related to domestic violence in the previous 10 years.

"Regardless if he had a background, regardless if he had a warrant, my cousin was a person that had a family that loved him," said Juanita Lingwall. "However we have to get them, we want answers."