By Bill Bryan
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A suspect in the shooting of a University City police detective surrendered Thursday afternoon at St. Louis police headquarters, and warrants will be sought today charging him with first-degree assault, officials said.
The suspect, Harvey Johnson, 28, was brought in by his lawyer, Charles Ferguson, who had asked the news media to be there to witness the surrender. “I wanted to ensure (Johnson’s) safety,” Ferguson told reporters, implying that pictures of his client arriving in good condition would discourage police from abusing him in custody.
The 30-year-old detective, whose identity has not been released, was wounded in both thighs about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near Johnson’s home in the 4900 block of Palm Street in St. Louis. The detective was treated at a hospital and released.
St. Louis homicide detectives are investigating the shooting because it happened in the city.
The attack occurred after two detectives went to Johnson’s home to talk to him about unpaid child support. Johnson had not been charged with a crime, but the detectives wanted to tell him to make payments or face a criminal charge in the future, police said.
Johnson ran from the officers, one of whom chased him, police said. During the pursuit in the dark, the detective said, he heard gunfire and realized he had been wounded. The detective fired four shots at Johnson and thought he had wounded him, but he had not.
Ferguson said detectives did not identify themselves as police to Johnson, and their mannerisms toward him were aggressive.
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