In the early morning hours of Saturday, October 16, 1976, off-duty Detroit Police Lieutenant Johnnie Shoates was waiting in line at a Church's Chicken restaurant at 12701 Joy Road. Suddenly, a man entered the establishment and announced a robbery. Identifying himself as a police officer, Lieutenant Shoates ordered the man to drop his weapon. The armed man turned and fired, striking Shoates in the head.
The single gunshot plunged Lieutenant Shoates into a coma, a state he would remain in
for the next ten years. The devastating injury ultimately led to his death a decade after the tragic shooting. At the time of the incident, he had served with the Detroit Police Department for eight years. He was survived by his wife and three children; his wife gave birth to their daughter just eleven days after he was shot.
The individual responsible for the shooting was apprehended and faced legal consequences for his actions. He was charged with assault with the intent to commit murder and was subsequently sentenced to a term of 20 to 30 years in prison. In 1985, after serving a portion of his sentence, the man was paroled.
