A former Kansas City police officer has pleaded not guilty to murder charges after authorities say he shot and killed a man outside a Northland Walmart on Wednesday.
Johnson, 47, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action for his role in the death of 71-year-old Ronald Barnett. The shooting occurred just before 4:30 p.m. in the Walmart parking lot near the Boardwalk Shopping Mall.
According to an affidavit filed Thursday, Johnson met Barnett after purchasing two beers at Walmart.
As Johnson left the store on foot and Barnett drove into the parking lot, Johnson allegedly made a provocative gesture in Barnett’s direction, sparking an escalating altercation that ended with Johnson allegedly shooting Barnett in front of his parked car.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video and police identified several witnesses.
About eight minutes after his license plate was transmitted to the highway patrol, Johnson was arrested at an apartment complex about eight minutes from the supermarket.
Johnson was a Kansas City Police officer from December 2003 to February 2014, according to Kansas City Police spokesman Captain Jake Becchina. He was most recently assigned to the police patrol unit.
The type of pistol Johnson allegedly used in the shooting – a Glock 22 – is, according to its manufacturer, the most commonly used service weapon of American police officers.
Johnson appeared in Platte County court via video on Friday and declined to comment on his guilty plea. He will be represented by a public defender at future proceedings.
Johnson will appear in court again on September 30 at 9 a.m.
His involvement in a civil lawsuit that will be filed in 2023 against another former KCPD officer, alleging that the man threatened Johnson with deadly force during a 2020 altercation, will proceed as planned.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court, former KCPD officer Jonathan Lenz attacked Johnson in his capacity as a self-employed mobile handyman as he left a private residence.
Lenz, who said he was in the area looking for a burglar, allegedly pointed his service weapon at Johnson for more than 10 minutes, leading to an investigation and an apology from the Kansas City Office of Community Complaints in 2021.
