In Charleston, West Virginia, a 28-year-old Caucasian female named Cassie Johnson was a dedicated police officer, having first served the city as a humane officer before being sworn in as a patrol officer in January 2019. On the afternoon of December 1, 2020, she responded to what seemed like a routine parking complaint on Garrison Avenue. A resident reported that a man had parked his SUV on their property.
This man was later identified as Joshua Marcellus Phillips.
When Officer Johnson arrived and confronted Phillips, the situation escalated into a violent altercation. An exchange of gunfire erupted between the two. Johnson was struck by a single, devastating bullet to her neck, while Phillips sustained two gunshot wounds to his torso. Despite her grave injury, Johnson was able to return fire and wound her assailant. Both were transported to the hospital, but Johnson's injuries proved to be catastrophic. She remained on life support for two days so that her organs could be donated, a final act of service. She succumbed to her injuries on December 3, 2020.
Joshua Phillips was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. Initially charged with first-degree murder, a Kanawha County jury ultimately found him guilty of second-degree murder and a charge of simple possession of a controlled substance following a trial in June 2022. During the trial, Phillips' defense claimed he acted in self-defense. In July 2022, a judge sentenced him to the maximum penalty of 40 years in prison for the murder conviction, with an additional six-month consecutive sentence for the drug charge. His subsequent appeals were rejected. In the wake of her death, the West Virginia legislature passed the "Patrol Officer Cassie Marie Johnson Memorial Act," a law that creates stricter penalties for the intentional killing of a first responder.
