Jury Finds Baltimore Officer Accused Of Shooting Unarmed Man Not Guilty Of Attempted Murder

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A jury has found a Baltimore police officer, charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting a suspect who wasn't a threat in the groin, not guilty of 1st and 2nd degree attempted murder.

Officer Wesley Cagle was found guilty of an assault charge and a firearms charge. The maximum sentence for those charges is 25 years and 20 years, respectively. There's a five-year mandatory sentence for the firearms charge.

According to the investigation, four BPD officers responded to a report of a commercial burglary in December 2014. As the suspect, Michael Johansen, left the building, he was confronted by two officers, who commanded him to show them his hands.

Johansen allegedly reached down, and those two officers shot him several times, causing him to fall.

"I told them, 'I give up, I'm unarmed. I have no weapons. I'm by myself,'" Johansen told WJZ in August of 2015.

According to State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office, eyewitnesses said Johansen was still on the floor and the other officers still had their weapons pointed at him when Officer Cagle came out of the alley in the rear of the store, walked in front of the other officers, and fired at him.

"He stepped right over top of me like I was nothing, you know," said Johansen.

No weapon was ever recovered on Johansen, who was charged with burglary.

Cagle's charges were announced by Mosby's office in August 2015, just months after her office filed charges were filed against the six officers in the Freddie Gray case, but he was the first officer in seven years to be criminally charged in an on-duty shooting.

During a five-day trial, Cagle told the jury he thought he saw a silver object on Johansen and worried it was a weapon. But colleagues testified Johansen was no threat.

"All I had on me was a cell phone and a wallet. I had no weapons or nothing," Johansen said.

The jury found Cagle not guilty on two charges of attempted murder, but he was found guilty of first-degree assault and a firearms charge. Cagle was released on bond until his sentencing in November.

In a statement from Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith, he said: "This case is an example of our absolute capacity to hold police officers accountable and serves as a reminder to our community that police officers in Baltimore are willing to step up when they see something they know is wrong."

"The Police Commissioner is taking immediate action in reference to this matter to separate his employment," he went on to say.

A statement from State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office about Cagle's verdict reads:

"In partnership with the Baltimore Police Department, my office conducted a thorough investigation that revealed Mr. Cagle's actions were criminal in nature and we thereby pursued justice in this case as vigorously as we do in all cases.

I commend the witnesses who willingly testified against Mr. Cagle's reckless behavior as well as my prosecutors who presented such a strong case. I'm glad to know that the jury looked at the facts and evidence presented in this case and ensured that justice was served."

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