CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Blue lights from law enforcement vehicles lit the streets of Downtown Charleston in the early morning hours Saturday as a procession with the remains of Charleston Police Patrolman Cassie Johnson left Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital.
The first stop for that procession was the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Officer to be followed by a later trip to Parker-Cunningham-Johnson Funeral Home ahead of a scheduled Tuesday funeral for Johnson at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
MetroNews’ Alex Thomas reported first responders representing multiple agencies were along the route.
The procession passed the Charleston Police Department.
Officer Johnson, 28, died Thursday, Dec. 3, two days after she was shot while responding to a parking complaint on Charleston’s Garrison Ave.
The procession of Charleston Police Patrolman Cassie Johnson taking place this morning. Johnson’s body was transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office. pic.twitter.com/Y8QQJLQdPv
— Alex Thomas (@AlexHouseThomas) December 5, 2020
Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford has said Johnson was shot once.
The suspect in her shooting, Joshua Marcellus Phillips, 38, of Charleston, was shot twice in the torso, according to Sheriff Rutherford, and remained hospitalized at CAMC General at the close of the week.
On Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline,” Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said first-degree murder was one of the charges Phillips would face.
First responders from across the area accompany the body of fallen Charleston PD Officer Cassie Johnson to the Medical Examiner's Office. The procession occurred early Saturday morning. The funeral for Officer Johnson will be on Tuesday in Charleston. pic.twitter.com/Gb9u2hog6n
— WVState Fire Marshal (@WVFireMarshal) December 5, 2020