Barry County Prosecutor Julie Nakfoor Pratt has completed a review of the officer involved shooting that occurred on October 28, 2024, which took the life of Jeremiah Jacob Johnson of Delton:
“It is my opinion” Pratt wrote, “that at the time Jeremiah Johnson was shot and killed by a Barry County deputy, the deputy honestly and reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent the imminent death or imminent great bodily harm to his fellow officer, Johnson’s wife, Siphwe and also himself. This was a justifiable homicide.”
Pratt went on to state that in this case, The Barry County Sheriff’s deputies were responding to what they knew was a domestic situation. When they arrived at the Johnson home they parked discreetly at the end of their driveway in order to silently approach the home due to the nature of the reported incident. When nearing the home on foot, one of the deputies learned from dispatch that Johnson’s wife, Siphwe called dispatch and reported that her husband had held a gun to her head. The deputy drew his gun while entering the home because he was unfamiliar with the building in which a possible hostage situation was occurring.
Both deputies entered the open door to the home for the lawful purpose of performing a wellness check on Siphwe. When the deputies made their way through the home they could hear arguing and screaming. They made their way to the Johnson’s bedroom and entered. One of them told Jeremiah Johnson: “don’t move” to which Johnson responded by drawing his handgun. One of the deputies observed the other deputy try to disarm Johnson and the two struggled over the weapon.
At one point, the deputy observed that the muzzle of Johnson’s gun was moving towards the direction of the deputy who was trying to disarm him. The muzzle was pointing in the direction of the deputy’s chest and head and he feared for the deputy’s life so he shot Johnson.
Prosecutor Pratt said Deputies and emergency responders attempted life saving measures but Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
