BARRY COUNTY, Mich. — An deputy’s decision to shoot and kill a man in Hope Township over the fall is considered justified.
The shooting took place Oct. 28, 2024, in the 7000 block of Kingsbury Road, according to the Barry County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were responding to a domestic situation involving a gun.
The Barry County Prosecutor’s Office released an update Tuesday saying the officer’s actions were “necessary” as they prevented his partner and the subject’s wife from being hurt.
We’re told the deputy had drawn his gun while going inside the home because he wasn’t familiar without the building’s layout. Both deputies heard screaming and fighting, at which they entered the bedroom.
One of the deputies told Jeremiah Jacob Johnson not to move but the Johnson drew his firearm, prosecutors say. One deputy tried to take the gun from Johnson, and a struggle ensued. The other deputy noticed the gun was pointed at the deputy struggling with Johnson, so he shot him out of fear for his partner’s life.
"This was a justifiable homicide," the prosecutor writes.
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