By KEILE CAMPBELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
A FORMER police officer laughed and lamented turning on his body camera after shooting a man last year.
Shando King’s camera footage was shown in the Coroner’s Court on Friday as the inquest into Valentino Johnson’s police-involved killing on April 16, 2023, continued.
Police claim Johnson brandished a weapon and was killed after leading them on a high-speed chase from Gladstone Road to Seven Hill Road.
Johnson’s alleged weapon was not collected on the night of the killing. Instead, police took a weapon from the scene two days later.
In the body camera footage shown on Friday, Mr King spoke with his superiors.
“I don’t know what you tell me cut this on for,” he said between obscenities.
Sargeant 3354 Joe Cunningham, an officer who oversees body cameras for the RBPF, took the stand as the footage was played in court. The video showed what happened after Johnson crashed into a vacant residence on Seven Hill Road, where the police chase ended.
Sgt Cunningham said protocol mandates that body cameras be turned on while pursuing a suspect. Mr King, however, did not turn his camera on until after senior officers arrived on the scene.
Detective Corporal 4355 Deniro Deveaux, an officer from the Crime Scene Unit, testified that on April 18, 2023, he was instructed to report to the scene of the killing, where he spoke to Assistant Superintendent Arnold Strachan, Jr.
He said he saw the weapon, a Bersa Thunder 45, which police claim Johnson used to fire on officers.
When court marshall Angelo Whitfield asked if he was accompanied by a team from the Crime Scene Unit, Mr Deveaux said he could not recall.
He said the firearm had dirt on it. He said he photographed, documented, and submitted the evidence, which he compiled onto a compact disk with his marking and signature and submitted as an exhibit in the inquest.
He testified that a photo of the firearm Johnson allegedly used was on the disk. However, he said he was not present when the gun was initially found.
Mr Whitfield asked him if a police dog was in the area when he arrived, and he said no.
Officers previously testified that a police dog found the gun –– two days after the killing.
Mr Deveaux said the senior officer, Assistant Superintendent Strachan, pointed out the weapon near where he had taken photos.
Ryszard Humes, the attorney for Johnson’s family, asked Mr Deveaux why he was assigned to work on the scene. Mr Deveaux said he assumed it was because he happened to be on shift.
Asked about fingerprint analysis, Mr Deveaux said fingerprint analyses are conducted on suspected evidence and do not require a written request.
Jurors asked Mr Deveaux if the ground where the gun was found was disturbed. Mr Deveaux said he could not tell.
Police Corporal 3890 Keron King took the stand on Friday as well. Mr Whitfield, the court marshall, highlighted a photo from April 16 where the angle showed no weapon. Mr King acknowledged he did not see dirt or a firearm in the photo.
Mr Whitfield then showed him a photograph Mr Deveaux took from a similar angle two days later. There, a firearm leans against the outside wall of a flowerbed.
Mr King said the dirt covering the firearm was surface level and was moved when his police dog partner, Tracker, scratched at the weapon.
Mr King admitted that a police dog would have been useful on April 16 when the shooting took place.
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