Jasmine Johnson's bullet-ridden car (courtesy denver.cbslocal.com)
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“A CBS4 Investigation has learned Arapahoe County Deputies and Colorado State Troopers poured more than 50 shots into a stationary car in March believing the driver was armed. It now turns out she was only armed with either a dustbuster or tire jack but emerged unscathed. However at least one deputy inadvertently shot up a marked state patrol unit during the unusual standoff.” And here’s how this ballistic bufoonery began . . .

It began with two drivers reporting to police that Johnson was driving erratically on Interstate 70. Johnson subsequently called police and in slurred tones, said that she was armed with an Ak-47 and intended to kill as many police as possible. “I want to kill cops,” said Johnson on the taped call. “I’m gonna kill all the cops I can. I have a gun, have a machete, have an AK-47.”

Arapahoe County deputies and the Colorado State Patrol caught up with Johnson’s Ford Focus on I-70 near Agate at about 11:30 pm. On March 3rd.  They conducted a high-risk stop, keeping their distance and repeatedly urging Johnson to show her hands and get out of her car.

After about 15 minutes, believing Johnson had pointed a gun at them, officers unleashed a volley of shots into her car. When nothing happened after the first round of shots, officers continued shouting commands at Johnson to get out of the car.

When they again thought they saw a gun, more shots were fired into her car. “Those deputies and troopers showed a lot of restraint in not causing a further confrontation,” said [Arapahoe County Sheriff Dave] Walcher.

In about 30 minutes, from approximately 75 feet away, deputies and troopers fired 55 rounds at Johnson’s car from AR-15 rifles, .40 caliber pistols, and a shotgun. Not a single round hit her.

“I am surprised,” said Walcher.

I’m not. Not when the Chief considers 52 shots fired at an unarmed driver from multiple officers (including state police) “restraint.” Now about that bullet-ridden cop car . . .

Photos of the crime scene obtained by CBS4 also show that in the bursts of gunfire, an Arapahoe County deputy accidentally shot up a state patrol cruiser. Reports suggest the patrol vehicle was struck 28 times. The deputy was standing immediately behind the car but was apparently unaware that many of his shots intended for Johnson were actually hitting the patrol car.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Dave Walcher said,”With all the distractions and lights I don’t think our deputy realized he was hitting the top of the car”. He said his department is doing additional training to address the misfires.

Misfires? I suppose that’s one word for it. And speaking of words that don’t quite fit reality . . .

Although no weapons were found in her car, a Colorado State Patrol spokesperson apparently told multiple media outlets the next morning that officers only fired at Johnson after she shot at them. CSP Chief Scott Hernandez now acknowledges that was not true.

“Unfortunately sometimes things are said that’s not specifically accurate”, said Hernandez. “I don’t think it was intentional to go out that way”.

He said somehow incorrect information about Johnson being armed was repeated and shared with law enforcement and the public. “As we know the facts now, that’s not the case.”

Here’s a true fact: anyone who thinks cops are the only ones who should be armed is wrong. On a lot of levels.

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104 COMMENTS

  1. Was there a complete forensic investigation on the cars? It would be instructive to learn why the driver absorbed no projectiles or splinters. Does this episode prove that cars are effective barriers to several calibers of gunfire? How many bullets penetrated completely at their entry point, how many were stopped or deflected? Did the bullets that penetrated into the cabin deflect off door parts or materials? Did those deflections stop within the cabin (or other part of the cars)? Did those deflections (or even non-deflecting bullets) exit the cabin, or the car entirely? Was the engine made inoperable by any of the shots?

    Stuff like that.

    • Based on everything I’ve read in this particularly impressive tale of incompetency I’m willing to bet that some, or maybe even most, of the rounds that were fired by the officers didn’t even hit the damn car. In fact I would go so far as to say that “in front of a deputies gun” might well be one of the safest locations in Arapahoe County since the deputies clearly aren’t going to be able to shoot you.

      • How do we know that those bullet holes in the car weren’t already there from the start and the cops missed completely?

        Strange can only get stranger.

        • well if the numbers are correct, 28 of those 52 shots went into Patrolman Dingus’s cruiser roof because he didn’t understand sight/bore offset.

          So that only leaves 24 shots that might have actually hit the suspect’s car.

      • Is it not an important matter to know if an automobile is, or is not, and effective barrier to gunfire? As a passenger/driver, I would like to know getting caught in a gang crossfire is not so dangerous, if I stay in my car. Or, if the opposite is true. As to whether as a defender, I would be successful in stopping the driver of a car pointed at me, it would go good to know if cars are ineffective barriers.

        Would the police not want to know the same things?

        • I don’t know about ya’ll but I grew up shooting at stuff at the ranch. cars, trucks, appliances and lots of animals. I wouldn’t want to be in a vehicle with rifle rounds incoming. Once we shot at an old mercury capri with spoons as homemade broadheads from a crossbow. went thru and thru drivers door, both seats and out the passenger side.

    • Cars may be more effective against 9mm HP’s, is what I gather. A rifle round from 5.45/5.56 on up will zip through most cars (not including the engine block- until you get to fairly large calibers)

  2. Don’t call the cops and tell them you’re going to murder them with an ak47. They’ll get emotional.

    Drama queens gotta drama queen.

    • Don’t fire your weapon at a citizen until you can positiviely identify a weapon and have it fired at you. The life of a citizen is worth more than the life of a cop.

      • That’s right. The only good drunk woman is a dead drunk woman.

        But apparently power drunk pussies in uniform already know that.

        The personal safety of officers is the only thing that really matters.

    • There was that shooting of the two ladies delivering papers during the (what was his name now, Dorner?, Doornob? something like that) incident in LA and environs. The police fired something like 107 rounds at their pickup, hitting the pickup, several parked cars, and several houses, but scored only a graze wound to one lady’s neck. That said, I think it takes a “special” level of skill to put 28 rounds into your own cruiser.

      • Like somebody using the hood of his truck for a rest and not realizing that the bore is lower than the sights until he puts one or three in the hood…
        …but 28 has to be some kind of record, even in the dark.

      • Wasn’t his cruiser. It was the state police cruiser and a deputy shot it up. Maybe it was a super trooper kind of moment. Wanted to show up the troopers from the last time they only put 14 rounds into a deputy car.

  3. Maybe not…remember all those shots by NYC finest at an old guy with a 45? I guess if you issue threats the po-leece may need to take you seriously. I’m not getting shooting the innocent cop car…😄😄😄😄😄

  4. A Ford Focus? I just re-read that bit. How is it possible to shoot a Focus 50 times and not hit the person inside?

    Drama Queen caught breaks she didn’t deserve.

  5. More proof that when pumped full of adrenaline, accuracy and decision making degrades greatly.

    Also, be aware a rifles sights are slightly above the barrel, so laying on the hood or roof of a car might not work.

    “doing additional training to address the misfires” Uh, yea, I guess that’s a step forward…..

    • https://youtu.be/Aqv1KeybznA

      I have never done it myself, but then again I don’t generally use a car for a rest. If that yahoo was on an actual two way range, standing behind glass to use the roof of his patrol car for a rest doesn’t strike me as especially bright either!

      • Fortunately they knew she wasn’t shooting at them, so they could stand wherever they wanted with no risk to themselves.

      • I love that video. Sootch definitely learned a lesson that day.

        Everyone can be idiots sometimes but 28 times? That’s a full mag dump under adrenaline with his eyes locked on his sight picture and nothing else. Probably didn’t take the officer more than 20 seconds too.

  6. Hitting the roof in front of you instead of the target?? Now Barney, needs to go back to one cartridge, no more. 28 was too much, even for Andy!

  7. Is it just me or do most CCW holders show more restraint when dealing with potentially armed adversaries. I mean shit, what if said driver had some kids hostage in the trunk? Here is a thought. If and When national reciprocity passes, the next step should be to disband every regular police force except for detectives and agents who are still needed to put clues together to solve cases. Seriously, thanks for your service guys and gals in blue, but this is a new century and your services will no longer be required. At least not in this country. There, I just made a recommendation that will save taxpayers a bazillion dollars and remove police officers from harms way! Its a win-win as they say.

    • Ever since I watched old cowboy movies as a child, I kinda had a favorable view of vigilante justice. Townspeople taking up for themselves.

    • Is it just me or do most CCW holders show more restraint when dealing with potentially armed adversaries.

      Yeah, because we serfs have to actually give a shit about our rounds and where they go.

      The worst that happens to cops is that there is a story on a gun blog, people have a laugh and then the whole thing is forgotten.

      Those useless twats will face zero repercussions for blasting rounds all over the countryside.

    • Oliver,

      Unfortunately, it is not you. Men robbed a bank in Stockton, California in 2014. One of the men sped away in a vehicle with a hostage. When police finally caught up to him, they did not hesitate to shoot the car over 600 times killing both the armed suspect and the hostage. The cops did not care one bit about the well-being of the hostage and the hostage never had a chance.

  8. This is Denver liberals for you. Completely disregard the fact that she claimed to have an AK and was “on the way to kill cops”, Lengthy record, and acting like complete dumbass. This is the part they leave out of half of these “unarmed” people getting shot stories.

    It’s all the police’s fault though. I mean, they should’ve waited longer than 1hr. They could’ve tazed her. Could’ve should’ve would’ve.

    Any room for two more people in TX, Or TN?

    • She might have claimed she had a nuke in the car, but she didn’t. The cops had no business even touching their weapons until they positively identified a weapon.

  9. “I want to kill cops,” said Johnson on the taped call. “I’m gonna kill all the cops I can. I have a gun, have a machete, have an AK-47.”

    Pretty sure she was just singing along to the Jim Nabors Christmas album.

  10. I wonder how a monolithic brass or copper slug out of a 12ga would have done penetrating the car. Either way, it sounds like these cops didn’t even bother aiming, much less put together a coherent plan for the situation.

  11. The key word is “reasonably” See, the bar for reasonably is quite a bit lower for police. If the general public did something like that and claimed it was reasonable, the police and prosecutors would spend endless money to prove it wasn’t.

  12. They just started shooting at the car? No shots fired at them? What law enforcement agency has implemented that as procedure?

    • Only those that are in the BetterThanYouPlebs police union. Which are quite a few.
      See, their life is in danger if somebody with a tire iron says it is a ak-47. Your life is not in danger if three masked criminals rob your store. To quote just one of many stupid convictions of people that acted in self defense but were thrown under the bus…

  13. In California, until very recently, it took more hours of training to become a beautician than a cop. Now, the training is the same, but you have to spend a year on the job before you get your certificate….

    Law enforcement is NOT your friend. They have no duty to protect you and the mantra “we all go home tonight” does NOT include you!

  14. Well I’m pretty sure this is December, but I might be wrong. Article said March, ?????? WTF. time warp, A 1957 Ford Focus ? I’ve noticed ever since the TTGA staffers put that Hawaiin weed article up, shits been like getting like all fucked up and shit man.

  15. The fact is law enforcement is US. Not some superhuman, elite with superior morals. It’s just one profession out of many.

    Personally, I wouldn’t want the job. I think it must suck to have to deal with knuckleheads all day long. As far as shooting goes, I bet most cops just do the bare minimum to qualify. I’m not judging – I only fired an M-16 once every 3 years for my entire career. Did that mean I was a fantastic shot with swift reflexes, of course not.

    I don’t care for the erroneous statements about the drunk firing at them first. I expect more from a public official.

    Still that whackadoodle is LUCKY. She wanted suicide by cop but got the three stooges instead.

  16. I was at a class where we got to shoot at and through a sedan. 9s and .40s sailed right through both sides unless they hit the window mechanism. As it was a handgun class, we didn’t try rifle rounds. Still, not something to brag about here.

  17. Arapahoe County issued my CCW and they didn’t make it easy. They’re very anti gun. Apparently to the point of not bothering to train with them.

    Keep in mind that these geniuses, combined with Aurora PD are the guys who argued it was entirely proper, lawful and Constitutional to pull everyone out of their cars at a major intersection on Havana (a major street in Aurora) because they thought there was a bank robber at the intersection. They also thought it was OK to search every person and vehicle without warrants and to detain like 60 people for five plus hours. IIRC, they never even nabbed the robber.

    “Unprofessional” is about the nicest word you can use for APD and the ACSD.

  18. “…reports suggest the patrol vehicle was struck 28 times. The deputy was standing immediately behind the car but was apparently unaware that many of his shots intended for Johnson were actually hitting the patrol car…”

    I’ve seen this kind of thing during live fire training. Even though it’s training, you’ll sometimes get someone who will shoot into their own cover. Sometimes it’s because they’re hunkered down such that only their sights are raised above the cover, sometimes they’re just not really aiming at all (this is often after ‘simulated stress’- either physical exertion or, in the case of simunitions, force on force encounters).

    Either way, you end up with a water barrel full of holes at the top and a confused shooter who has no idea where all his rounds went.

    Anyway, this won’t cause much rukus. The CO State Patrol doesn’t use black cars, so…

    • Sometimes it’s because they’re hunkered down such that only their sights are raised above the cover, sometimes they’re just not really aiming at all .

      But only LEOs are qualified to own firearms. My God.

  19. This makes a Very good case for the “old fashioned” Revolvers and Shotguns to be returned to active duty. .357’s and 12 gauges.

  20. I guess good thing the cops have worse aim then stormtroopers. Looks like she was suicidal and maybe high/drunk. Hopefully she gets the help she obviously need. Not sure why some are acting sad that she wasn’t killed. Maybe it turns out she is a murder, or child abuser or something, but short of being a hardened criminal, I don’t see how a suicidal person deserves to die.

    She didn’t have an actual gun, or weapon and certainly by the point in time she was stopped posed no danger to the police or anyone other than herself.

    Yeah, I get the way she was behaving likely lead towards officers shooting in her general direction (*snicker*)

    On the other hand, the police spokesperson claiming she shot at officers first….well that sounds a LOT like officers at the scene decided to try to lie in their report to try to cover up their incompetence. Not that someone misspoke or maybe didn’t hear the non-existent gunshot.

    Sounds like retraining at a minimum, and if the officers involved did report they took fire first before they shot, sounds like a lot of officers need to be finding new jobs for falsifying a police report. They might have legit thought she had a gun. Even amped on adrenalin I don’t see how they can possibly thought she shot at them first. exaggerating your report to make your use of force sound more legitimate is still falsifying your report.

    Considering the number of officers involved, can we also please start issuing at least lower power binoculars to officers? 75 feet at night with lights on the vehicle might make it hard to see with the naked eye exactly what is going on, but with some 8×42 binocs someone should have been able to see exactly what was happening.

    I don’t expect a single officer all on his own to sit there with binoculars trained on a suspect car trying to see if they are unarmed, or going for a gun or whatever, but when there are SEVERAL, I’d think ONE of them could be spared to be the eyes and lethal force decider.

    • A bazillion cops on the scene.
      One cop shoots.
      A bazillion minus one cops know they didn’t fire the first shot, therefore the woman opened fire on them.
      Unless that one cop volunteers the fact that he started it all, or unless it can be physically proven that she couldn’t shoot, it’ll go down in history as ‘crazy lady opens fire on cops’.

      This time, it could be physically proven that she didn’t shoot because she didn’t have that capability. The mythical situation where the cop who started the contagious fire admits to being at fault never happens in real life.

  21. The dirty little secret, far to many LEO’s are poor marksman. Few put much time and effort into the skill. Just enough to pass their quails. The bigger the Department the worse it gets.

    • I agree you that bigger departments are worse, but I think it’s because in the big cities, virtually nobody is into marksmanship or guns, and that includes police recruits.

      The cops who can shoot could already shoot before they decided to become cops. Becoming cops might make them more interested in shooting well, but the interest was already there at some level.

    • One time at an outdoor range that was open to the public, I watched a guy with “US MARSHALL” shirt on empty a 50 round box of ammo at a target 10 yards away without a single hit in the vital zone. He got pissed, said the gun needed fixed, didn’t have time to get it fixed for his qualification 2 weeks away and blurted out ‘here, you try it’. (He saw I hit everything I aimed at). Never had held or fired a gun like his; emptied the mag with all shots in the vital zone. He said, “It’s not the gun, is it? ” I said nope..

      • You sure he was a Marshal? I say that cause I’ve been binge watching Justified and Raylan Givens never misses. Maybe the guy you saw didnt train at Glynco. Where ever or what ever that was.

  22. sometimes you just get lucky… She got lucky. I’ve tore the roof off a Diahatsu mini van with an M2 .50 cal just to watch the driver get up and walk away because he huddled in the floor board. Lucky lil @sshole walked away sporting a brown tie dyed man dress after that one.

  23. Another threat to OUR US Constitutional-Bill of Rights by Law Enforcement… Especially the 2nd amendment in this county…. This is why WE THE PEOPLE need to rein in our government, and our Law Enforcement community…Personally, after read all the conflicting B.S….I DON’T believe a word from CO. LE…This is why we need the following….

    Immeadite action that should be taken by “WE THE PEOPLE !!!”

    1.) [NCRBs] : ” Nationwide Full Independent Civilian review boards of all rank and file Police officers! To promote the general welfare, life, liberty, freedom, and police accountability!

    2.) Immediate Nationwide legislative action to ban ALL Police Unions throughout the USA!

    3.) Rescind Law Enforcement agency acquisition of surplus military equipment, and weapons!

    4.) IMMEDIATE Nationwide legislative initiative to remove ” sovereign immunity protections” from all Law Enforcement agencies!

    5.) Nationwide legislative action required to remove any “Special Privileges, Political Rights, protectionism, and favoritism” for the Law Enforcement community. Anything that would violate the 14th amendment of equal rights protection…..

  24. We had an episode a few years ago where the Kentucky State Police shot up a car containing a bank robber and his hostage/accomplice (never was determined, but no charges were filed against her). They fired a triple digit round count at the car. The robber ended up shooting himself. The self inflicted wound was the only one on his body. The hostage was injured by shrapnel and bullet fragments.

    It is well past time to disarm cops. Citizens should be armed, not government employees.

  25. Do not care what she called and said. The law requires all citizens which includes the police to identify a deadly threat before firing upon it period. It seems like in CO this is not taken very seriously at all, possibly not in other places either. If there was one officer who thought he saw a gun pointed at them and fired at them (probably after action lie) then that officer would need to be able to clearly give a statement to that fact and the facts they perceived. Now that does not allow all the other officers to say well they shot so we all joined in.

    Each officer needs to be able to state what threat they saw that led to them believing deadly force was needed. This is what we were taught. This is not combat in Iraq or where-ever. Try doing something like that as a non-LE citizen. Your buddy sees a threat to him and defends himself. You do not see the weapon but because he is shooting you join in…. good luck with that one in court. That will not go well for you.

    It is time police officers are held to the same standard as all the rest of their fellow citizens. Yes they have a dangerous job, but it is not even close to the most dangerous job out there. And they chose this job, no one forced them into it. And yes there are a lot of folks out there that need shooting and deserve it. But again if you cannot do the job properly then leave.

  26. Been a while since I checked in on Farago’s blog, I see that he’s still tossing out anti law enforcement click bait red meat as entertainment to the same old audience of losers, which of course like clockwork is still triggering the same old predictable Pavlovian responses from the same old cop-hating pieces of $#it like Danny Griffin and Chris Mallory. Too funny!

    • Yes, I am a cop hater. I also hate ticks, mosquito and leeches. A blood sucking parasite is a blood sucking parasite no matter if it has a badge or not. Wipe your chin there Spanky, you got some cop dripping off it.

    • To me YOUR just another Statist Troll ! Maybe YOU should go ask YOUR masters if they need THEIR Tactical combat boots cleaned…Wipe Tongue to remove excess saliva ! (PS: I have or had family and friends who were, or are involved in the Law Enforcement community…And even they are concerned about what direction the USA is heading…A Freedom lost, is gone for good….)

  27. It’s a crowd mentality. Hear gunfire, everyone starts shooting so I must also empty my magazine. The cops heard gunfire and thought she was firing at them. Incredible lack of discipline and training.
    Guess the idea of shooting 2 rounds and seeing what happened is no longer in vogue.
    They are lucky they didn’t kill an innocent bystander.
    Fire the chief, the training officer and the senior cop at the scene…….won’t happen.
    Glad I’m not near there.
    They should try IDPA or IPSC, they will never use a pistol again. You can argue the merits of both but one or both should be mandatory for cops on a regular basis.

  28. Open invitation to all those deputies and troopers to come and let us train you up to minimum civilian standards. Free! All you need to do is get to central Virginia and bring your own ammo. But when you arrive at our range please leave your guns in your cars until we can verify that they are unloaded and safe. Don’t want you running around with loaded firearms until we get you trained up.

    • Civilians are government employees not in the military. These cops should be trained to the same standard as productive citizens.

  29. For police officers that is excellent shooting. They hit something with most of the rounds that were fired. See this is how to train them.

  30. The local PDs have to shoot and qualify twice a year. I shoot twice a week and compete at least once a month. Who do you want showing up when you’re the hostage?
    Being a police officer is a hard, dangerous job that I won’t take for love or money. I’m thankful there are men and women that are willing to step up and take on this thankless job. I enjoy being able to walk out of my house every morning and not being in free fire zone like Somalia or Syria. I know we have law enforcement to thank for living in a relatively safe, civilized country.
    That does not mean I can’t see when they have a problem. Driving and shooting are core skills that MUST be mastered! We drive every day, and can do it on autopilot without a second thought. If you only drove a car twice a year, how long would it be before you mastered driving? Do we hire police recruits without driver’s licenses? And teach them to drive from scratch? Police have to write reports and traffic tickets. Do we hire recruits that are illiterate? And teach them to read and write from scratch? No, these are skills we expect them to have when they show up. but weapon skills are different, we hire recruits that have never even held a gun before and expect to turn them into gunfighters. In eight weeks. And never have them practice again until the week before qualifications. And let them re-shoot quals over and over till they pass (I’m not making this shit up).
    We need to hire quality recruits, pay them well, support them politically and train them like your live depends on it, BECAUSE IT DOES!

  31. Checking on the followup:
    “Johnson was charged with numerous felonies stemming from that standoff, but court records show most charges were dismissed when Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor menacing. She was sentenced to three years probation.”

    Go figure.

  32. She should go buy a lottery ticket. Threatened to kill cops with an AK-47 and was not hit once by their gunfire when they thought she started shooting. Goes to show that if a suspect primes a cop with intent, everything looks like a nail that needs a hammer. Not the cops fault. This was a failed attempt at suicide by cop. Regarding hitting the cop car with bullets. Food for thought… Those cars are made of sheet metal that doesn’t stop anything. What was made out of 16 or 14 gauge steel 20 years ago ain’t made of that sort of stuff today. Hot knife through butter. They were focused on their initial target without knowing what was behind it. Time for some range time for the cops but nothing else needed.

  33. Unbelievable, Fugging Unbelievable!
    This is what happens when cops don’t get enough range time. The “urge to shoot” is built up inside them, then as soon as they get a chance to unload……………….Bang ity bang bang! On what ever is out there!
    God save us.

  34. On one hand, I don’t want to criticize what I wasn’t experiencing. On the other hand, I am a LEO that is well aware of the craniorectal entrapment that occurs on calls like this, and I am also aware of the fact that most LEOs are not “gun guys/gals”, so this isn’t surprising and is kinda embarrassing.
    More training needs to take place at the department level after the Academy, and if funding is an issue, even a simple tabletop session would at least spark some awareness for the less engaged officers.

  35. What if they weren’t trying to hit her? If I was a cop, standing there in the dark, not knowing if she was actually armed, not seeing any actual weapon, I’d think twice about trying to shoot her. If everyone is thinking that, how did the shooting begin? Likely someone blew their wad and jerked the trigger on their glock and everyone flinched at the same time. Lack of discipline, perhaps. Questionable behavior, perhaps. She was a professed aggressor, with stated malicious intent. None of us were there, so we can guess all we want. The suspect wasn’t armed and wasn’t killed mistakenly. Win. Police may have shown that training should be reviewed. Win. I spend time at a range where LEO’s practice. I see a few of them there a lot. I can attest for a handful of LEO’s that care about their skills with a pistol, and they’re nice, decent human beings. Why do you guys always assume the worst?

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