Aurora – Police will review the department’s response to a domestic dispute just before a man allegedly shot his wife, leaving her brain-dead.
Police went to the home of Eddie and Lorraine Johnson after a report of a fight Sunday evening. Officers left after about 30 minutes of speaking to the couple, who insisted they could work things out on their own.
Thirty minutes later, officials say, Eddie Johnson shot his 48-year-old wife in front of their children.
Interim Police Chief Terry Jones said Tuesday he will review the response to the first call from the home. He said he hopes to have results by week’s end.
A preliminary review shows officers had no probable cause to arrest Eddie Johnson, 45, on Sunday, despite a history of calls to the home, at 1585 S. Ironton St.
“We’re taking a look at it to see if there’s something we missed, or if it was handled in the appropriate fashion,” Jones said.
Before Sunday, police had been called to the house more than 20 times, on everything from runaway children to domestic violence, records show. Eddie Johnson was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in 2003 but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of trespassing.
Randy Saucedo, of the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said he finds the entire incident “very, very concerning” and wonders why police didn’t spend more time investigating.
“I can certainly understand if there was no probable cause, but given the history of that address, it should at least trigger more of an intervention,” Saucedo said.
Johnson is being held on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder.
Jones said that in possible domestic-violence situations, officers question both parties separately. State law requires officers to make an arrest if they have probable cause that a crime was committed.
During Sunday’s initial call, the officers learned there was a gun in the home, but the couple said it was locked away downstairs. Eddie Johnson told police he carried the gun in his job as a security contractor at Buckley Air Force Base.
The officers were just down the street writing their reports when they were called back to the home.
“Sometimes there’s an inability to predict what will happen, even in the immediate future,” Jones said. “It doesn’t get any more tragic than this.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer contributed to this report.
Staff writer Sean Kelly can be reached at 303-820-1858 or skelly@denverpost.com.
