DETROIT – A Detroit security guard who shot and killed a 52-year-old Detroit man Tuesday afternoon will not be charged in his death.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Dominique Davis, 30, acted in lawful self-defense in the shooting death of Melvin Johnson, 53.
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Worthy said Davis was charged with carrying a concealed weapon because she did not have a permit to lawfully carry a weapon.
UPDATE: Security guard arraigned on concealed weapon charge
Officials said Davis was working as a security guard in the 260 block of Merton in Detroit when she saw Johnson stealing building materials from a construction site and loading them into his truck.
Police said Davis blocked Johnson's truck with her car. After a heated conversation, Johnson agreed she could get the stolen items from his truck, but when Davis tried to get the items, Johnson reversed and drove toward Davis, police said.
Davis fired her handgun one time, hitting Johnson in his right shoulder area, police said. She immediately reported the incident to police and waited for them at the scene.
Medics took Johnson to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Under the law of self-defense, a person must have an honest and reasonable belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or imminent great bodily harm. In this case, it was decided that Davis acted in lawful self-defense.
Davis is expected to be arraigned on the concealed weapon charge Friday at 10:30 a.m.
Family of man killed believes misunderstanding led to death
Johnson's children have a lot of questions about the security guard's account of what happened.
The children said they first heard about the story on Local 4, not knowing it was their father who was killed. They are heartbroken and feel like there's more to the story than what's being told.
Johnson was a father of seven. Family members said he lived in Highland Park, where he took care of his aging mother and did house calls fixing people's cars.
"He is the top mechanic in Highland Park, as far as low-income people," Arthur Brown, Johnson's son-in-law, said. "If you are in the low income bracket, the first person you call is Melvin Johnson."
"They're able to police an area, and they're going too far because they don't have police training," Amanda Johnson, Johnson's daughter, said.
Johnson's family believes it's all a misunderstanding and suspect he might have been in the area to fix someone's car.
"It was a horrible situation for both parties in this situation, but she never should have been in that position with a firearm in her hand to do a police officer's job," Brown said.
"I just feel like you could have called the police and handled it that way," Johnson said. "You're not a police officer, so I pray for you."
The family set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses. If you would like to help, you can click here.