A heaping helping of second guessing was on James Johnson’s plate when he took the public comment microphone Tuesday at the city council meeting, and the subject was the Sept. 30 fatal shooting of an active shooter at the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. A Springfield police officer shot and killed the gunman, who had taken a hostage. Police released video of the event last week.
“I want to say this real loudly,” Johnson (pictured) said. “We have mental issue problems, and arriving on the scene and pulling AR-15’s and shooting a young black male or a young white male, to me, is not the answer.
“There’s got to be some better training.”
Johnson said Camren Darden, 17, was the victim of a poorly trained cop who saw killing him with an assault weapon as the first option. Ald. Chuck Redpath has an opposing viewpoint.
“That officer was responding as he was trained. It was a textbook response, and that police officer didn’t go there to kill somebody. He went there to take care of a threat.
“Ken Scarlette is one of the best chiefs we’ve ever had.”
Scarlette did not attend Tuesday’s meeting. Without mentioning him, Johnson and another citizen praised his predecessor, Kenny Winslow.
The state’s attorney has cleared all Springfield officers involved, but the investigation into how Darden got a gun into the juvenile center continues.
