Chapter 59: Jimmy the Butcher (Part I)

Johnny never expected the police to force their way directly into the house. He had just fired a shot; according to standard police protocol, without clearing the danger, they should have negotiated from the outside and ordered him to walk out instead of launching a direct assault.

His father was a police officer and often told him stories about police enforcement procedures, so he was certain he hadn't remembered incorrectly.

Johnny glanced around the room. Jumping out the window was not a good choice; with so many police cars outside, the officers must have already surrounded the entire house.

"Don't shoot, I'm coming out."

Johnny pulled open the bedroom door on one side, just leaving a crack. Seeing only a single officer through the gap, he instantly drew his pistol and fired at the door.

Jimmy had already anticipated his movement and prepared in advance. The moment Johnny aimed his gun at him, Jimmy sidestepped away from the threshold. Johnny emptied his magazine directly into the door, hitting nothing but wood and drywall. Pressing the magazine release button, the empty magazine dropped to the floor. He tucked his pistol under his left armpit, pulled a fully loaded spare magazine from his trouser pocket, inserted it, and racked the slide.

Watching him complete all these actions, Jimmy shifted back toward the doorway and fired two shots through the wooden door—one hitting the chest, the other striking the neck.

Through his mind's eye vision, Jimmy saw Johnny collapse to the floor. Jimmy walked over, pushed the door open to take a look, and pressed his radio to report: "Suspect is down. Area is secure. You can come in now."

As the police officers and FBI agents from the front entrance entered, they saw Jimmy standing in the living room, adjusting his duty belt and holster. Jimmy pointed with his finger and said, "He's in the bedroom." He then unbuckled his duty belt and leg holster, handing them to Cagg, who had just entered through the back door.

"Is he dead?" Cagg asked.

Jimmy nodded and walked out through the front door.

"Captain, how long has this young man been with your department?" an FBI agent asked Cagg as he walked over.

"Four or five months, I'd say. Hell of a good kid," Cagg replied.

"He certainly is. Great marksmanship too. Two shots—one to the chest, one to the neck. Johnny died on the spot. The kicker is, he made those kills right through a closed door. What's his name? How old is he?"

"Jimmy Yang. About twenty-four or twenty-five, I haven't really paid attention."

After exchanging a few casual words, Cagg took Jimmy's gear and walked out. Per standard procedure, Cagg drove Jimmy back to the precinct while having someone else drive Jimmy's patrol car back.

Because the FBI was involved, Jimmy was not immediately subjected to an interrogation upon his return; they had to wait until all relevant departments were present.

Jimmy spent a solid two days cooped up in the precinct. During this time, he didn't go out on patrol, nor was he assigned any other tasks. He ate takeout, slept on a cot in the break room, and ultimately faced an unprecedented super-inquiry panel.

In the precinct's main conference room, seven high-ranking officials sat along one side of the conference table. Chief James sat in the center; to his left were a colleague from the County Sheriff's Department Internal Affairs Bureau and two FBI agents; to his right sat an Assistant District Attorney from the Prosecutor's Office and two LRPD Internal Affairs officers.

"Jimmy, this inquiry covers the two police-involved shooting incidents on May 16th."

Chief James, seated in the middle, gestured to the line of people as he introduced them to Jimmy, following the proper protocol.

"This is LRPD Internal Affairs Captain Brandon Walter and Detective Ned Ryan. This is Assistant District Attorney Kaya Johnston from the Prosecutor's Office. County Internal Affairs Captain Aud Palmer. FBI Special Agents Iger Marshall and Jonathan Holman."

"Gentlemen, this is Deputy Jimmy Yang. We will now begin today's inquiry. First, the shooting incident involving Deputy Jimmy Yang on May 16th at 10:13 AM. Captain Brandon Walter, please begin your questioning."

"Very well. There was one officer injured and two suspects killed in this case. Officer Dolph Mars was shot in the right leg; the bullet has been successfully removed, and he is expected to return to duty in three weeks. The male deceased is 34-year-old Armen Grosso, formerly known as Osama Saleh Hassan, and the female is Yankezi Walid. Both have criminal records. Grosso was wanted for illegal possession of weapons and drugs while out on bail, and Walid was also wanted for violating bail conditions and illegal possession of drugs."

"Please state your incident report now."

"At 7:40 AM on May 16th, I received notification from the precinct that I needed to report for duty near Calgary Bay to search for the murderer Johnny Santiago. My assigned patrol sector was the intersection of West Glen Bay and West Glen Road."

"Around 10:05 AM, I heard gunfire, followed by a radio broadcast reporting that an officer had been shot. Since I could hear the gunshots, I deduced that the shooting took place on a road adjacent to mine. I drove my patrol car to the scene, first applied a tourniquet to the injured officer, then conducted reconnaissance on the house where the suspect was located, and returned to my patrol car to protect the wounded officer."

"Around 10:10 AM, the rest of the officers arrived. I went to the rear of the house to prevent the suspect from escaping through the back door. Upon reaching the rear, I discovered a motorcycle and deduced that the suspect might attempt to flee out the back door and use it to escape, so I guarded the motorcycle."

"At 10:12 AM, the front-line officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. Shortly after, the back door opened, and two suspects appeared in the doorway, the male in front, armed. I opened fire, discharging a total of four rounds."

"Since I still needed to search for the murderer Johnny Santiago and resume my patrol duties, after communicating with Captain Cagg, I handed the four spent cartridge casings over to the LRPD officers and continued my patrol carrying the M16 rifle."

Jimmy detailed the scene at the time, as well as his assessment of the situation. He had recalled these events multiple times over the past two days, so the account was virtually free of omissions while remaining concise.

The relevant reports had already been submitted by the LRPD officers. For them, this was mostly a formality; after all, it had been a very long time since a single police officer had neutralized three suspects in one day.

"Please explain why you chose not to use your sidearm and instead used an M16 rifle."

"The suspect in the case we were handling at the time was Johnny Santiago, who had practiced shooting with his father since childhood. His father was a retired police officer with over ten years of service. Johnny was carrying an M14 rifle when he fled. Based on safety requirements, all county deputies assigned to the operation were issued M16 rifles."

"After Johnny fled, he holed up in a residential home, and the possibility of him acquiring automatic weapons again could not be ruled out. Therefore, I continued my patrol carrying the M16."

"Following the officer being shot, when dealing with a high-risk suspect possessing firearms, adhering to safety principles, I trusted the rifle in my hands far more than a handgun, which has significantly shorter range and lower stopping power."

"I have no further questions." Captain Brandon Walter concluded the questioning. For him, the most important thing was that the officer was unharmed.

"I have a question. Why was your target acquisition aimed at the suspect's chest area? You intended to kill him, didn't you?" ADA Kaya Johnston suddenly interjected.