A Pennsylvania man has been cleared of all charges after fatally shooting another driver earlier this month, after prosecutors in Lehigh County determined the armed citizen was acting in lawful self-defense.
The incident happened early in the morning of July 6 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Tamir Johnson, the 35-year-old who was shot and killed, was the only aggressor in the conflict between the two men, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney.
Johnson was driving in the 400 block of West Hamilton Street when his vehicle, an Audi, overtook a Prius. Johnson’s vehicle forced the Prius to a curb, and both vehicles stopped. Johnson got out of the car and hit the driver’s-side door of the Prius with a baseball bat.
The Prius driver, who legally had a gun, shot Johnson, then drove about two blocks away and called 911. He remained at the scene when police arrived.
Pennsylvania law states that the use of deadly force is justified “when a person reasonably believes such force is immediately necessary to protect himself against death or serious bodily injury when the person against whom the force is used displays or uses a weapon that is readily or apparently capable of lethal use,” the news release said.
The release noted that Johnson pursued the Prius for approximately two blocks before cutting it off, and that the Prius driver, identified in the news release as John Doe, remained in the driver’s seat.
“Based on the manner in which Johnson swung the bat, Doe reasonably concluded that the bat was a weapon that was readily capable of lethal use,” the DA’s office wrote. “Under those circumstances, Doe was legally justified in using deadly force under Pennsylvania’s ‘Stand your ground law.’ “
I don’t know if Johnson just assumed that someone behind the wheel of a Prius wasn’t likely to have a gun or if he didn’t even consider the possibility when he stepped out of his Audi with a bat in hand, but either way, he made a fatal mistake when he whacked the driver’s side door.
Even he was just trying to intimidate the armed citizen and had no intent of actually assaulting the Prius driver, from the driver’s perspective a stranger had been tailing him for several blocks before forcing him to stop. That stranger then exited his own vehicle wielding a bat and demonstrated he was prepared to use it by striking the door separating the two men. I’d say it was absolutely reasonable for the armed citizen to believe that his life was in danger, and as the district attorney notes, Pennsylvania law doesn’t require that someone try to retreat before using force to defend themselves in those circumstances.
According to a recent survey, more than 75 percent of drivers believe road rage is getting worse. The vast majority of these incidents don’t end up with punches being thrown, bats being swung, or shots being fired, but with more aggressive drivers on the roads its smart to have the means to protect yourself if necessary. Of course de-escalation and driving away is the best defense, but that won’t always be possible.
Tamir Johnson would likely be alive today if it weren’t for his own actions that morning. It doesn’t matter if the driver of the Prius accidentally cut him off, was following him too closely, or anything else that caused him to see red. If he would have just kept driving (and kept his cool), he probably would have forgotten about whatever slight he felt he was subjected to by the time he got to his destination. Instead, a momentary aggravation led to the loss of his life, and forever changed many others… including the loved ones he may have left behind.
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