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West Virginia Street Renamed To Honor Fallen Police Officer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A street has been renamed in honor of a West Virginia police officer who was fatally shot on the job.

Officials in Charleston held a ceremony Wednesday to rename Garrison Avenue as Patrolman Cassie Johnson Avenue.

Johnson, 28, died on Dec. 3, two days after being shot while responding to a parking lot complaint.

Johnson grew up on Garrison Avenue, the same street where the shooting occurred.

"She was a hero to all of us," Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said at the start of the ceremony. "She gave the ultimate sacrifice to keeping this city and her people safe. When she talked about policing and her call to serve, you could tell that was actually what she was meant to do."

Johnson joined the city as a humane officer in October 2017 and was sworn in as a patrol officer in January 2019.

An August trial is set for Joshua Phillips, who is charged with first-degree murder.

Police said Johnson ordered Phillips to place his hands behind his back but he turned toward Johnson in an aggressive manner. During a struggle, Phillips threw Johnson's handcuffs into the street, took out a handgun hidden in his waistband, and shot Johnson in the neck, police said in a criminal complaint.

(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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