[1] According to the Phoenix Police, Department of Public Safety trooper George Cervantes was patrolling when he discovered Johnson's vehicle parked in the gore point near Loop 101 and Tatum Boulevard.
"[2][3] Dion Johnson was a prohibited possessor of firearms due to past criminal charges and had recently been released from the Arizona Department of Corrections several months prior.
[citation needed] He had spent time in prison for armed robbery and aggravated assault, was listed as a known gang member, and also had complaints about fights with family and an ex-girlfriend.
[4] According to the Phoenix Police account, a trooper was patrolling when he discovered Johnson's vehicle parked at the triangle piece of land between the freeway and on/off ramp, near Loop 101 and Tatum Boulevard.
[2] However, video footage was later released from a live-feed Arizona Department of Transportation camera that was recorded by a local news station after the incident took place.
On June 7, protestors had held 11 days of daily marches in Phoenix to demand change and chanted for six minutes straight to highlight the time that medical aid was withheld from Johnson even with an ambulance stationed a few hundred feet away.