Deputy shoots suspect after being stabbed
Police responded to an officer-involved shooting on Caldonia Street in Rossville, Ga., Monday evening, according to Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson.
Cpl. J.D. Holland fired twice at James Allen Johnson of East Ridge, shooting him in the leg and abdomen. This was after Johnson used a large-blade knife to stab Holland twice in the thigh and once in the forearm, Wilson said.
Holland and Johnson were taken to Erlanger hospital. Holland’s wounds were described as not life-threatening, but it was not clear how badly the suspect was wounded in the shooting. Wilson said, “from a layman’s perspective, he appears to be stable. Medical personnel never said his condition.”
A neighborhood resident, who did not want to be identified to avoid retaliation, said he saw Johnson
walking on the street and recognized him from a wanted photo posted at a local gas station. The resident thought he was wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle, but Wilson said that was untrue and did not know whether Johnson was indeed the man in the photo at the gas station.
Wilson said Johnson had warrants out for failure to pay child support and a municipal warrant, which would typically be related to failure to appear in court or similar charges.
The resident said Holland stopped the suspect in the road to ask what he was doing, when the suspect ran, cutting through the resident’s yard, which is where he thinks the deputy was stabbed.
The resident said the Walker County Sheriff’s Office vehicle that was still parked and running nearby on the street belonged to Holland.
Wilson said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to the scene to investigate the use of force in the pursuit, as well as the possibility of pressing criminal charges against Johnson for use of a weapon against a police officer.