Shocking moment an unarmed black man walking between traffic asking for change is shot by a plain-clothes officer through the closed window of an unmarked police car 'because he feared he was about to be robbed'

  • Joel Johnson, 28, was walking between several cars on Monday night at approximately 8.50pm in Philadelphia when a plain-clothed officer shot him
  • Video shows Johnson walk up to the detective's vehicle and in the next moment, several shots are fired and the man falls to the ground
  • He was taken to a hospital late on Monday, initially said to be in critical condition
  • His brother posted on social media at around 4am on Tuesday referring to Johnson as 'Eddie,' saying that he was 'stable and doing fine now'
  • The officer believed that Johnson was a carjacker and also armed with a gun
  • No weapon was found at the scene and the Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr said he didn't expect to find one implying Johnson was unarmed
  • The man's niece said that he is mentally disabled and known to beg for change, the latter fact the police commissioner corroborated 

By Stephanie Haney For Dailymail.com and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 00:20 EDT, 23 May 2019 | Updated: 15:47 EDT, 23 May 2019

Shocking footage shows the moment that a man said to be mentally disabled was shot by a plain-clothes officer through a closed car window in Philadelphia. 

Joel Johnson, 28, was walking between several cars on Monday night at approximately 8.50pm when an officer fired at him three times, striking him once in his torso. 

Johnson, whose brother Jose Tirado referred to him as 'Eddie', was taken to Temple University Hospital late on Monday, according to a post by Tirado on Facebook.

Tirado commented shortly before 4am on Tuesday morning that 'Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now'. 

DailyMail.com called the hospital to confirm Johnson's status and a spokesperson said no information could be released at the request of Johnson's family. 

The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com that the identity of the officer involved in the shooting has not been released at this time and could not provide an estimate for when the officer's name would be revealed. 

Shocking video shows the moment 28-year-old Joel Johnson was shot while walking the streets of Philadelphia on Monday night by a plain-clothed officer in an unmarked car

Shocking video shows the moment 28-year-old Joel Johnson was shot while walking the streets of Philadelphia on Monday night by a plain-clothed officer in an unmarked car

Video shows Johnson walk up to the detective's vehicle and in the next moment, several shots are fired and the man falls to the ground.  

'The detective believed what he saw was a firearm in this male's hands,' Philadelphia Police Captain Sekou Kinebrew said.

'The detective, believing he was going to be robbed or something was going to happen to him, produced his firearm, discharged his firearm - we believe at this time - three times.'

Johnson was rushed to a hospital in critical condition late Monday.

Police explain that the officer believed that Johnson was a carjacker and also armed with a gun and the man was shot in response

Police explain that the officer believed that Johnson was a carjacker and also armed with a gun and the man was shot in response

Johnson's brother, Jose Tirado wrote at 12.09am Eastern on Tuesday: 'Please send prayers out to my baby brother Joel johnson who is in the O.R. right now cause he was shoot by a police officer while asking for change at 3400 g st'

Johnson's brother, Jose Tirado wrote at 12.09am Eastern on Tuesday: 'Please send prayers out to my baby brother Joel johnson who is in the O.R. right now cause he was shoot by a police officer while asking for change at 3400 g st'

Shortly before 4am  on Tuesday Tirado added a comment, saying 'I would like to thank everyone for your support. Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now. Thanks [praying hands emoji]'

Shortly before 4am  on Tuesday Tirado added a comment, saying 'I would like to thank everyone for your support. Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now. Thanks [praying hands emoji]'

Tirado wrote at 12.09am Eastern on Tuesday: 'Please send prayers out to my baby brother Joel johnson who is in the O.R. right now cause he was shoot by a police officer while asking for change at 3400 g st.

'Many people know him and know that he ask people for change and he has special needs but to shoot him threw a close car window without asking a question is crazy. 

'I’m not condemning any officer for this but being a former officer for many years, I know what it is to have gun control. To shoot a unarmed person who has no history of any violence and nothing in his hands at the time is hard for me to understand why deadly force was used. 

'Thank god only one bullet out of the 3 shoots fired hit him. I will stay here until he gets out of the O.R. May god bless him. [praying hands emoji]'

Tirado tagged the post as being made from Temple University Hospital. Shortly before 4am that morning he added a comment, saying 'I would like to thank everyone for your support. Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now. Thanks [praying hands emoji]'

Johnson was taken to a hospital and is said to be in critical condition and was later said to be 'in stable condition and doing fine' by his brother

 Johnson was taken to a hospital and is said to be in critical condition and was later said to be 'in stable condition and doing fine' by his brother

Johnson's niece said that he is mentally disabled and known to beg for change, the latter fact the police commissioner corroborated. The window the officer shot through is shown

Johnson's niece said that he is mentally disabled and known to beg for change, the latter fact the police commissioner corroborated. The window the officer shot through is shown

His niece described Johnson as having special needs and said he would often beg for change in the area, ABC 13 reports. 

'Why does he deserve this? He stays to himself. He begs for money and just goes home,' she said.

The shooting officer - a seven-year veteran - had been heading back to headquarters at the time of the shooting after he had finished processing the scene of a crime.

The officer was stopped at a red light in an unmarked car when Johnson emerged from two cars and had his arms extended.  

Police say the man was shouting. He is then said to have walked up to the officer's rolled up window.   

'A lot of people say he just made a hand gesture for change like he always does,' one of Johnson's brothers said. 'The officer was on his phone and when he looked up he got startled, he got nervous, and started shooting through the window.'

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said there was no weapon at the scene.  

'It's not automatically an issue of whether there's a weapon or not. I know for some people they think that's the way it should be - obviously, it's the first thing we look for,' Ross said.

'But I'm always going to be very candid with you when I know there's not one. So I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we haven't found one, we don't expect to find one.'

He added that Johnson was known as a panhandler in the area.

The officer who shot Johnson has been placed on an administrative assignment while an investigation into the shooting is underway, as is standard protocol.  

'It's not automatically an issue of whether there's a weapon or not. I know for some people they think that's the way it should be - obviously, it's the first thing we look for,' Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said. He added Johnson was known as a panhandler in the area

'It's not automatically an issue of whether there's a weapon or not. I know for some people they think that's the way it should be - obviously, it's the first thing we look for,' Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said. He added Johnson was known as a panhandler in the area

 

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Moment an unarmed black man with special needs walking in traffic is shot by a plain clothed officer

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