Officer R.L. Tinnin joined the Durham Police Department in 1999, according to a statement from the department. He was placed on administrative leave with pay, which is standard in shootings by police officers. Durham police and the State Bureau of Investigation continue to investigate the case.
Javan Hezekiah Johnson, 24, of Durham, the man Tinnin shot, was wanted in a high-speed chase that seriously injured state trooper Jerry Brand a week earlier.
Johnson was shot after Tinnin tried to stop a Honda Accord that ran a red light. After turning into a dead end parking lot in an apartment complex, the driver struck several vehicles, including the officer's patrol car, and tried to leave the parking lot.
The officer fired one shot when the driver backed his car into him, knocking the officer to the ground, police said. The driver left the parking lot and drove about one block before he lost control of the car, which ran off the road and struck several mail boxes.
The car went down an embankment and came to rest in the woods, police said.
Meanwhile, Brand remains at Duke Medical Center. A highway patrol spokesman said Brand has made it through one round of surgery on his badly injured legs.
The spokesman said Brand faces more surgery and a lengthy hospital stay. His injures, however, are not life-threatening.
Copyright 2024 by WRAL.com and the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
