‘My heart hurts’
FUNERAL IS HELD FOR DION JOHNSON WEEKS AFTER SHOOTING BY DPS TROOPER
Family, friends and members of the public mourning the death of 28-year-old Dion Johnson gathered on Friday morning for a final goodbye, nearly three weeks after Johnson was fatally shot by a trooper with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. ● About half a dozen people were inside the south Phoenix church 30 minutes before the funeral began.
They walked in and paused at the open casket before finding a seat. Among those sitting in the sanctuary was 31-year-old Antwoin Jones, the uncle of Johnson’s daughter.
Though he didn’t have a blood relation to Johnson, Jones said he still considered him family. “He was a good man — he loved his daughter,” he said. “I wish he had more time to spend with her. I’m just sorry he got taken too soon.”
Jones said he’s “shaken up” about Johnson’s death, but hopes that change to law enforcement will come as a result. “They’re supposed to be our heroes,” Jones said. “I’m just tired of seeing ... people dying, period, from the hands of police officers.”
Nearly two dozen family members made their way through the center aisle of the sanctuary a few minutes after 11 a.m. with some sobbing as they passed the casket, which was closed when the funeral service began.
Pastor Warren Stewart Jr. opened the funeral with a prayer, in which he asked God to comfort the family through their mourning and ensure that justice is served.
“We can’t look to government officials to bring comfort, we can’t look to law enforcement to bring comfort, we look to you, God,” Stewart said.
After playing “In the Midst of It All” by Yolanda Adams, Johnson’s mother, Erma Johnson, addressed the group of about 50 mourners.
She started by calling Johnson her “beautiful son” and frequently referred to him by the nickname “D Master.”
“I knew that you could’ve been anything ... so smart, so loving, so intelligent — you were my everything,” she said.
She called her son her “shadow,” saying he always wanted to be with her, from the day he was born until the day he died.
“My heart hurts,” she said. “It’s like a razor sliced my heart open. This pain ... will never, ever go away.”
She said she’s always wanted to protect her son, and wish she could have on the morning of May 25.
“I would have taken that bullet for you,” she said.
Johnson called the bond between her and her son “inseparable” and said she loves her son “more than life itself.”
“Don’t worry baby, you can rest,” she said. “You can sleep son, because mama loves you. I will always love you. I will get justice.”
‘A friend to all’
Dion Johnson’s 14-year-old daughter also addressed the crowd, saying her dad made her “feel safe” and talking about the strength he always displayed.
A few of the mourners called for her to sing, which she did for a few moments before saying she “can’t do it” and leaving the stage as the crowd applauded her.
Johnson’s siblings also spoke, decrying what they called a false narrative being spread about their brother by law enforcement and thanking Dion for posthumously bringing their family back together.
Just before noon, Stewart again took the microphone to read Johnson’s obituary, which described Johnson as being a “friend to all” and said he brought “lingering joy” to everyone he met.
A slideshow played, showing various pictures of a smiling Johnson. The cries of the mourners seemed to get louder with each transition to a new photo, with some in the back eventually moving to comfort the family seated near the casket.
Stewart then offered his eulogy of Johnson, in which he described Johnson’s charisma as his “superpower” and said that justice would be served for his death.
“I pray that that rogue DPS officer doesn’t get any sleep for what he did,” he said. “I pray that he’s tormented for the life that he took too soon.”
Like Johnson’s siblings, Stewart offered descriptions of Johnson that ran counter to those being offered by law enforcement. He discussed the recent protests in Phoenix and around the nation, saying that Johnson’s name was being said thousands of times along with the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
“It’s sad that for Black people, we have to be athletes or superstars or to die in order to be famous but we will not let his life be in vain,” Stewart said.
He asked that Johnson’s family and friends cling to the belief that God’s justice will prevail.
“When we go through tragedies like this, we can seem hopeless, but there is hope that is beyond this world — there is heavenly hope that is greater than a hashtag,” he said. “That hope is Jesus. It’s a person, it’s not just a principle. Hope is who Jesus is, faith is who Jesus is, and love is who He is.”
After a closing prayer, Johnson’s casket was reopened. The sobs of the mourners echoed through the sanctuary as they lined up to say goodbye to Johnson for a final time.
Johnson was buried at the Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery, in Phoenix.
Early morning shooting on Memorial Day
According to police, Johnson was asleep in his car on Loop 101 in the northern part of the Phoenix area at around 5:30 a.m. on May 25.
A statement said the trooper “smelled an odor of alcohol, saw beer cans and a gun in the vehicle.” The trooper removed the gun from Johnson’s vehicle and secured it on his motorcycle.
After calling for backup, the trooper noticed Johnson moving, so he went back to the car and tried to arrest Johnson. Johnson, now awake, “grabbed onto” the trooper through the driver’s side door, which began the struggle.
The trooper later told investigators he was worried he would be pushed into oncoming traffic so he drew his gun, said Sgt. Maggie Cox, a Phoenix police spokeswoman.
Johnson’s family has refuted the narrative offered by police and last week called for the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the shooting.
Johnson’s name has been frequently mentioned at the Phoenix-area protests that originated from the outcry over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.