Chicago prosecutors are taking the mother of Ronald Johnson to court, accusing her of communicating threats against the officer that killed her son.
Chicago police officer George Hernandez killed Johnson during a foot pursuit in October 2014 by shooting him in the back.
Officers on the scene say they found a loaded gun in Johnson’s hand after he was shot. And Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez said the dash cam video shows the gun in his hand, which is why she chose not to charge him.
According to Fox 32:
(Alvarez) said the video shows Johnson with a gun in his hand, a claim his family has long disputed. Alvarez also said a bullet matching the type that came from the loaded gun was found in the vehicle that Johnson had been riding in moments before the shooting happened.
However, the dash cam video does not show Johnson holding a gun or pointing any object towards the cops as he ran across the street with several behind him.
And that is what outraged Johnson’s mother, Dorothy Holmes.
According to ABC 7:
One day after prosecutors decided not to charge the officer who shot and killed Ronald Johnson, his mom said this about the officer in a YouTube video:
“I love my kid just as well as he loves his 15-year-old and his 17-year old. What goes around comes around. And he can take it how he wanna take it. If he wanna take it as a threat, it was a threat,” Dorothy Holmes said.
But that’s not all. A month earlier, Dorothy Holmes surreptitiously took a photo of Officer George Hernandez during a deposition. She tweeted it, writing: “George Hernandez the CPD terrorist who murdered Ronnieman. Justice will be served one day.”
Anti-police protesters quickly branded the photo with the word “murderer.” It’s been used in demonstrations since.
Now city attorneys want Holmes to tone it down, according to court documents.
“Her most recent statements, juxtaposed with the current political climate, are extremely serious as they endanger the lives of two minor children. She is inciting violence against them. And she has also made clear that she does not intend to stop. It’s akin to yelling fire in a crowded theater.”
But Michael Oppenheimer, who is the victim family attorney, said she is only expressing her anger and frustration and has no intention of harming the officer.
“She was emotional. She is not a threat to anybody. Any comments she made were not meant in a threatening manner. This was a comment made 24 hours after prosecutors decided not to press charges. My client was clearly upset and distraught at the result of the shoddy investigation. She just wants justice for her son and to go after a grieving mother like that is just ridiculous.”
The court date is set for January 6th.
The decision to take legal action against the mother of a man they killed for voicing outrage – at a time when many residents are voicing outrage against the police abuse and city corruption – is questionable.
Protests over the Laquan McDonald shooting continue, even though it’s been nearly a month since that video was released.
Below is the dash cam video of the cops shooting her son along with a video of her speaking in a press conference after Alvarez’s decision was announced. In the video, she does not make the comments referenced to her in this story. That video appears to have been removed.
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