Death Inquiry Requested into Death of Black Man Found Hanging from Tree

Originally published in the Tampa Tribune (Florida) January 7, 2005 

Copyright 2005 The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune

FBI ASKED TO EXAMINE SUICIDE AS HATE CRIME

By MICHAEL DUNN    mdunn@tampatrib.com

TEMPLE TERRACE -- Some say a 24-year-old black man who committed suicide in September may have been murdered.

The Hillsborough County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has asked the FBI to look into the death of Damien Johnson as a possible hate crime. Johnson was found hanging from a tree in the woods at Tampa Telecom Park the morning of Sept. 22.

Temple Terrace police investigated the death and ruled it a suicide, but Johnson's relatives and others say they wonder if that's what really happened.

Members of Johnson's family, along with Temple Terrace resident Eddie Adams Jr., met with police in November to express their concerns about the death. Adams, who ran unsuccessfully for Temple Terrace City Council in November, said he found the suicide suspicious.

Adams said he didn't believe a black man would hang himself because of the cultural association with racial lynchings. Adams also questioned why Johnson would walk five miles from his boardinghouse near the University of South Florida to commit suicide.

Adams has called a meeting for Saturday night in Temple Terrace to discuss the issue with family members, NAACP representatives, church leaders and others.

Temple Terrace police Deputy Chief Patricia Powers said all the evidence at the scene pointed to suicide. A police investigation found that Johnson climbed onto a tree limb about 15 feet from the ground, tied a bedsheet to the branch and to his neck, then dropped toward the ground.

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office and police investigators said they found no signs of a struggle and no bruises or injuries to Johnson's body. A police report noted that neither Johnson's hands nor feet were bound.

Powers said that as far as Temple Terrace police are concerned, the case is closed. However, because the family raised concerns, her department asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to give the case another look.

Reporter Lenny Savino contributed to this report. Reporter Michael Dunn can be reached at (813) 977-2854, Ext. 28.

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