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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

Man shot by Spokane police speaks out

Jesse Hugh Johnson, 24, scratches his head as he lies with a bandaged thigh in a hospital bed on Monday, June 18, 2012, at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. Johnson was shot in the leg by a Spokane police officer while armed with what turned out to be a BB gun. Authorities also said he had methamphetamine on him. (Tyler Tjomsland)
Jesse Hugh Johnson, 24, scratches his head as he lies with a bandaged thigh in a hospital bed on Monday, June 18, 2012, at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. Johnson was shot in the leg by a Spokane police officer while armed with what turned out to be a BB gun. Authorities also said he had methamphetamine on him. (Tyler Tjomsland)

Jesse Johnson scratches his head as he lies with a bandaged thigh in a hospital bed on Monday at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. (SRphoto/Tyler Tjomsland)

Jesse Hugh Johnson says he thought no one else was around when, armed with a BB gun, he confronted a suspected thief early Sunday.

The 24-year-old Spokane man realized a neighbor must’ve called police when a bullet struck the back of his upper right leg and police officers swarmed the area.

“I go to pull the trigger, they go and shoot me,” Johnson said Monday evening in an interview with The Spokesman-Review from his hospital bed at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. “They just kind of came out of nowhere.”

Read the rest of my story here.



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