SAN ANTONIO – A man shot and killed by San Antonio police officers last month as they attempted to arrest him on felony warrants had posed with multiple handguns on social media hours before the fatal encounter.
Kevin Johnson, 28, died March 14 after SAPD investigators said he pulled a handgun from his waistband while running from officers in a West Side neighborhood.
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The fatal shooting of Johnson occurred after he jumped off of a bicycle and ran from officers, eventually crossing a shallow creek near Elmendorf Street.
Investigators recovered a gun at the scene, SAPD officials previously said.
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 have also 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 cell phone 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 Thursday that officers working to locate Johnson were aware of the social media posts showing the handguns.
Department sources told the KSAT 12 Defenders officers had been looking for Johnson for several days after his March 7 warrant for felon in possession of a firearm was issued.
In that case, two people identified as friends of Johnson told investigators that on Feb. 4 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.
Release of critical incident video imminent
SAPD sources this week said the department has sped up its usual 60-day timeline to release dashboard and body worn camera of Johnson’s shooting.
That footage, according to sources, could be released to the public as soon as Friday afternoon.
A chaotic scene unfolded in the West Side neighborhood after Johnson was killed.
A crowd chanted obscenities and rocked an SAPD vehicle, a police vehicle’s tire was slashed, according to footage and audio captured by a KSAT camera, and a patrol vehicle’s windshield was shattered by a large object.
Officers deployed pepper spray on some members of the crowd as the scene grew more chaotic.
In the days after Johnson’s death, community members called for the department to speed up its release of footage of the fatal encounter.