By Margaret Baker and Wesley Muller
The Sun Herald
GULFPORT, Miss. — Police identified the officer shot over the weekend as 23-year-old Dolton Bradley, Chief Leonard Papania said in a press conference Monday afternoon.
Attempted murder suspect Corey Donald Johnson was armed with a 9 mm pistol when he twice shot Bradley, the bullets piercing the officer’s lower abdomen area just below his bulletproof vest, according to Herman Cox, prosecuting attorney in Harrison County.
Bradley was a trainee who had been on the job since September. He was a sworn police officer in Gulfport, but had not yet attended the police academy and was not certified by the state’s Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training.
BLEOST Director Robert Davis said protocol requires trainees to work alongside experienced officers until attending the academy.
Bradley was riding with another officer at the time of the shooting, Papania said.
Papania said even after Johnson shot Bradley twice in the lower abdomen, Bradley continued to gain control of Johnson until two other officers arrived to assist in the apprehension.
Bradley is recovering at Gulfport’s Memorial Hospital, where he is in “stable but guarded” condition, authorities said.
“Officer Bradley’s recovery will require time and effort,” Papania said. “I ask that you keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
An account titled “Dolton Bradley Benefit Account” has been set up at BancorpSouth to assist with Bradley’s medical expenses.
“Every day you have police officers throughout this nation go out and enforce the law,” Papania said. “Sometimes it causes them to have to put themselves in peril and danger. When we join law enforcement, we have to give great consideration to that, and it’s a demand of the job.”
The shooting occurred Sunday morning and resulted in Johnson’s arrest on a charge of attempted murder.
At the time of his arrest, Johnson was out of jail on a $20,000 bond following his indictment and arrest in February on a charge of possession with intent to sell a controlled substance, a felony punishable by to eight years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines, Cox said. According to the indictment, Johnson had less than two grams of cocaine on him when he was arrested on that charge on Feb. 20.
He’s set for trial in that case on Jan. 14. As a result of the new charge, Cox said, Johnson’s bond on the drug charge was revoked.
Bradley was shot around 4:20 a.m. Sunday after police attempted to stop a silver 2006 Chrysler Pacifica Johnson was in for observed traffic violations near the intersection of 42nd Avenue and 20th Street. The pursuit ended in a driveway in the 2000 block of 42nd Avenue, a report showed, where at least two people, including Johnson, jumped out and ran.
The shooting occurred during a struggle with Johnson behind a home near 46th Avenue and 20th Street.
Police had been actively looking for Johnson as a fugitive wanted on several misdemeanor arrest warrants at the time of the shooting.
“It’s not just that he was out on bond,” Assistant District Attorney Crosby Parker said. “He was a fugitive and had arrest warrants out.
They were looking for him to pick him up.”
While being transported from the Gulfport Police Department on Sunday, Johnson responded to questions from reporters by shouting expletives.
Police also arrested the driver, 19-year-old Jasmine Nicole White, in connection with the incident. White faces a charge of hindering the prosecution or apprehension of another. She reportedly provided false information in an attempt to hinder the investigation.
White is being held in the Harrison County jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Johnson has been in and out of jail seven times since September 2011, the Harrison County jail docket shows, for various charges including resisting arrest, carrying a concealed handgun, possession of cocaine with intent to sell and probation violations. If convicted of attempted murder, Johnson could face a prison sentence of between 20 years and life.
Copyright 2014 The Sun Herald