DAYTONA BEACH — Moments before being shot six times by police, former football star Jermaine Green held his girlfriend in a choke hold with his left arm and his right hand gripped a large knife that loomed over Katrina Johnson's chest, police body camera videos released Wednesday show.
Daytona Beach Officers Richard Maher and Kevin Connelly had just kicked in the front door of the house where Green was staying on Magnolia Avenue on Sept. 25. It was just after 3 a.m. when the officers saw Green duck into a bedroom, Johnson struggling to get away from his grasp, the video shows.
In the next few seconds, one of the policemen stood in the doorway of a cluttered bedroom and yelled at Green to release his hostage. A half-naked Green was on a bed with Johnson. She was on top of him, face up, her black shorts pulled down slightly.
“Let her go dude, let her go,” the officer yelled at Green. “Let her go man, I'm telling you right now.”
The next thing the officer saw was Green's right arm — with the knife in his hand — raise slightly and then come down rapidly as he almost plunged the weapon into Johnson's chest.
“He's doing it,” the policeman said to his partner.
The next words yelled out by one of the officers was “Shoot the (expletive deleted).”
Seven shots rang out in rapid succession, six striking Green in the buttocks-hip area, the abdomen and Green's right arm, the seventh bullet piercing Johnson's right arm, the video shows.
One of the officers grabbed Johnson, pulling her out of the way. Green had slipped off the bed and was lying on his right side, his body practically buried in a pile of clothes on the floor.
He hardly moved, his right leg bleeding near his buttocks, his mouth in an almost half-smile, his eyes closed.
The entire episode was filmed by body cameras attached to Maher and Connelly. The house where the incident erupted is the home of Clinton Henry, father of Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry.
The video starts out with the officers driving to the call, and at one point one of their cruisers raced on Nova Road at almost 100 mph.
Two 9-1-1 calls had been made that morning as Green and Johnson's argument escalated. One of the calls was brief as a woman told a dispatcher, “Please come fast. Please come fast. It's a fight.”
The next call was from Green's mother, Donna Green, who repeatedly yelled out Green's first name as she spoke to a dispatcher.
“He's gone crazy, please hurry,” Donna Green said to the dispatcher. “Oh God. Oh my God. He's gone crazy, I don't know what happened.”
In the background a child could be heard hollering at Green, as well. The youngster, Johnson's 10-year-old son, whimpered and pleaded, “Leave her alone,” referring to his mother.
When Maher and Connelly arrived at the scene, the boy was running out of the house in his pajamas, the video shows. An officer ordered one of the many pajama-clad adults who were milling about on the sidewalk and street to take the child away from the scene.
Before going inside the house, Maher and Connelly attempted to assess the situation. They spoke with Donna Green and Henry, who was standing near the locked front door when police got there. Henry and Donna Green are friends and Henry had been trying to help Jermaine Green for years, the mayor has said.
Neither knew what to tell the officers because they had been asleep when the fight broke out. Police Chief Mike Chitwood said the row between Green and Johnson had started earlier in the day on Sept. 24.
“He hit her over the head with a brick and that was not reported to police,” Chitwood said.
After police removed Johnson from the house, she sat in a wooden chair in the dirt in front of Henry's house, moaning as blood streamed down her arm, the video shows.
“I'm bleeding to death,” Johnson said. “I'm gonna die.”
Both Green and Johnson were taken to Halifax Health Medical Center that morning, police said. Green was listed in critical condition and was in the intensive care unit for several days. Johnson's injury was not serious. However, she has threatened to sue the Police Department over the shooting.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as is customary in all police shootings, is investigating the use of deadly force by Maher and Connelly. FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said Wednesday the query is still active. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave for a few days but have been back on duty for almost a month.
Once the FDLE investigation is complete, it will be sent to the State Attorney's Office for review.
Green was a star running back at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange in the late '90s who went on to play for Washington State in college, and later had a brief stint with the New York Giants in the NFL. He's being held without bail now at the Volusia County Branch Jail on charges that include kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.