A man killed by San Antonio police officers last year near a West Side creek was shot 12 times, including eight times in the back, an autopsy report obtained Wednesday by KSAT Investigates shows.
The release of the 14-page autopsy report by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office comes after a grand jury earlier this year declined to indict three SAPD officers in connection with the shooting death of Kevin Johnson, 28.
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Johnson was wanted on multiple felony warrants when officers with SAPD’s Street Crimes Unit located him on March 14, 2022.
Johnson was seen in dash-camera video riding a bicycle before an officer swerved near him and attempted to stop him, footage released by SAPD weeks after the shooting showed.
After a foot pursuit with officers covering about two city blocks, Johnson ran through a shallow creek between Elmendorf Street and Hamilton Avenue.
At one point, an officer was recorded on his body-worn camera appearing to tell Johnson to “get down boy.”
Officers spotted a gun in Johnson’s right hand as he exited the creek, SAPD officials previously said.
Officers repeatedly shouted for Johnson to drop the gun as he appeared to trip and roll forward into the embankment on the other side of the creek.
After one officer said that Johnson had a gun in his hand and officers yelled “Gun! Gun! Gun!” they fired a flurry of shots at Johnson, killing him.
A handgun was recovered at the scene. SAPD officials included a still image of the grass-covered gun, with a bullet lodged at an angle in the chamber, in a previous video release.
WARNING: Graphic details below
Manner of death: Homicide
An autopsy performed the morning after Johnson’s death found “multiple gunshot wounds present on the body,” and were labeled as the following:
- Superficial GSW (gunshot wound) located on the right chest
- GSW located on the left back
- GSW located on the right back
- GSW located on the right back
- GSW located on the right back
- GSW located on the right lateral back
- GSW located on the lower right back
- GSW located on the lower lateral right back
- GSW located on the lower right back near the midline
- GSW located on the left buttock
- GSW located on the dorsal right thigh
- GSW located on the dorsolateral left forearm
None of the gunshot wounds showed evidence of close range firing, according to the autopsy report.
Nine projectiles and fragments were recovered from Johnson’s body, while a tenth was recovered from the sleeve of a jacket worn by Johnson at the time of his death, the report shows.
A deputy chief medical examiner ruled Johnson’s manner of death as a homicide.
Two of the gunshot wounds pierced Johnson’s heart, three gunshot wounds pierced his lungs and three gunshot wounds penetrated or fractured his spine. All of those gunshot wounds produced injuries considered to be life-threatening, according to the autopsy.
The remaining four gunshot wounds would not have been life-threatening, the report states.
Additionally, a toxicology screening revealed that Johnson had benzodiazepines, common in sedatives used to treat anxiety, and cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
“All three officers were cleared by SAPD Internal Affairs following an internal administrative investigation. Furthermore, a grand jury no billed the officers involved in this case. The Department remains committed to transparency and the critical incident video was posted online following the incident,” an SAPD spokesman told KSAT via email Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office previously told KSAT via email regarding the no-bill decision:
“The facts, evidence, and applicable law were presented to the grand jury on August 31, 2023. After private deliberation, the grand jury declined to return a true bill of indictment.”
Johnson posed with guns on social media hours before death
A report from KSAT Investigates last year revealed that Johnson posed with multiple handguns on social media hours before officers shot and killed him.
Johnson, at the time of his death, was wanted on a warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm, court records show. SAPD officials previously said Johnson was wanted on a warrant for violating his parole in a previous assault of a peace officer case.
A short video, which appeared to be recorded on a cellphone and posted to Facebook Stories under the account “Splash Johnson,” showed a man resembling Johnson whose face was partially covered by a handkerchief holding two handguns outside of a home.
In a second video, which shows Johnson inside a home with the handkerchief removed, he again holds two handguns and at one point aims one of the guns at the camera.
In a third video, recorded inside a McDonald’s and posted to the same account, the person recording the footage moves a bag to reveal a handgun placed on a seat at the restaurant. The final few seconds of video show that Johnson was recording it.
An SAPD official confirmed last year that officers working to locate Johnson were aware of the social media posts showing the handguns.
Officers had been looking for Johnson for several days after a warrant for felon in possession of a firearm was issued in early March 2022.
In that case, two people identified as friends of Johnson told investigators that a month earlier Johnson had fired a gun in the air several times while he “appeared under the influence of some narcotic and behaved very paranoid,” the warrant states.
Johnson’s 2019 felony conviction for assault on a public servant prohibited him from being in possession of firearms.