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At approximately 9 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2017, police attempted to stop Mount Vernon resident Robert Johnson, 30, for a violation in Mount Vernon, when he sped away, taking off to the Bronx. Police said that he rammed an official cruiser during the standoff before hopping a sidewalk and coming to a crashing halt at a gas station on East 234th Street near Bronx Boulevard.
During the final exchange, officers fired their weapons at Johnson in an attempt to stop him. Dawson was hit during that stance.
According to the report, Dawson, who was a passenger in the car driven by Johnson, was shot in the shoulder during the encounter, with the bullet still lodged inside her more than a year later. She is alleging that her civil rights were violated and that the officers were not properly trained.
In a statement at the time of the shooting, acting Mount Vernon Deputy Police Chief Roy Hastings said that the intentional ramming of the police cruiser prompted officers to discharge their weapons. In the altercation, (Dawson) was struck once and treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. It was not clear how many shots were fired during the incident.
Johnson reportedly was known to Mount Vernon police officers from previous run-ins. He is also facing charges in the Bronx.
The lawsuit names Johnson, the city of Mount Vernon, New York City, both police departments, the officers involved in the shooting, and nearly a dozen other officers who interacted with her on the day of the shooting.
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