JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a brutal beating that nearly killed her several months ago.
“You know, they train us to never give up, to stay in the fight. And that’s what I was going to do, and I was never going to give up,” said Officer Jennifer Johnson.
For the first time since Johnson was attacked while responding to a shoplifting call, she is opening up to News4JAX Anchor Joy Purdy -- speaking out about those life-changing moments, revealing the person she considers her “angel” for saving her life, and sharing the source of her incredible strength.
The attack
It was the morning of February 23rd and Officer Jennifer Johnson and her JSO partner just sat down for breakfast when they got the call to respond to a reported shoplifting – something Johnson has done dozens of times while working for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. She says they also heard police headquarters on the radio assign a third officer to meet them at the call as well.
According to the arrest report, Joseph Merrill, 40, had swiped at least $176 worth of merchandise from the Walmart Supercenter on Philips Highway.
“So, I know he’s just a few miles away down the road,” Johnson said of the 3rd officer assigned to the shoplifting call. “So, I get my food to go. And my beat partner was very adamant about coming with me. And I said, ‘Look, it’s okay, you’re busy. You’re writing a report. It’s okay. I will meet up with you after this.’ We’ve been on many Walmart calls together.” After speaking with the Walmart loss prevention officer by phone, Johnson saw the suspect when she arrived. “Again, I know I am by myself, but another officer is literally a mile or two just down the road. So, I go ahead and get out. I begin to approach the suspect, as I always do -- as I’m approaching anybody. I was calm. He stopped right in his tracks, looked at me, and put his hands by his side. He did not show any signs of aggression,” Johnson explained. “And I started to introduce myself. ‘Hey, sir, I’m Officer Johnson. I need to talk to you about an incident that happened at Walmart.’ And I did get fairly close to him. And next thing I know I’m down. I’m on the ground.”
“He didn’t show me any signs of aggression or that he was going to run from me. And next thing I know, I was punched, and I didn’t feel it. I just I knew something bad had happened to me,” Johnson told Joy.
Reports said Joseph Merrill ripped off Johnson’s police radio and tossed it – and was on top of her -- beating her.
“Do you remember fighting him?” Joy asked.
“I vividly remember sort of opening my eyes and seeing him on top of me and I knew something bad was happening, but I couldn’t feel anything,” she answered.
Johnson was hit so hard – so many times – she was knocked unconscious.
“I didn’t know if I was down for 30 seconds, a minute, five minutes, I had absolutely no idea. And I was able to, I eventually I sat up and he’s gone.”
What Johnson would learn a little later is that the suspect was “gone” because of Sgt. Steve Rudlaff.
“He was my angel,” Johnson told Joy. “He saw the whole incident take place.”
The ‘angel’
Sgt. Steve Rudlaff had been driving by the Walmart Supercenter that Thursday morning. He said it was no different than any other Thursday.
“I just dropped my son off from school,” he said. “I was driving northbound on Philips highway – that’s where I usually take it to get onto 95 to go into downtown. And as I’m driving northbound, I actually see Officer Johnson on the side of the road making contact with the suspect. And as I’m getting closer, that’s when I see the suspect start attacking Officer Johnson.”
“You actually saw what happened? You saw her go down?” Joy asked.
“I saw the attack,” he answered.
“And what was going through your mind that second?” Joy asked.
“There wasn’t really much except for ‘react,’” he said.” I saw the officer being attacked. And my first goal was -- that has to stop.”
Sgt. Rudlaff activated his lights and sirens and drove across the median to intervene.
“The siren caught his attention,” the Sergeant said. “And he looked up and that’s when I pulled up and that’s when he started running.”
“I’m yelling for him to stop, I’m yelling ‘police!’ and then I am absolutely just asking God to give me the strength and courage to be able to stay up with him and catch him.”
“She calls you her angel. You were there right at the right time,” Joy told Sgt. Rudlaff.
“I feel that God put me here at the right place and the right time,” he said. “I’ve been with the sheriff’s office for 25 years. And I’m glad that he’s just not ready to get rid of me yet.”
“Do you see yourself as a hero? You saved her life she could have died,” Joy said.
“I see myself as a police officer. Yeah, that’s what we do. Yeah, I see myself just like firemen, just like the military. I mean, you take that oath to serve and protect,” he said.
Johnson will tell you the word “hero” is the correct title. Once the suspect was detained, she remembers seeing Sgt. Rudlaff and being told by emergency crews arriving on scene that he had saved her life.
“I remember him coming over and giving me just a great big bear hug. And just telling me, ‘I’m so glad that you’re okay.’”
Prosecutors also credit Sgt. Rudlaff’s lifesaving actions.
“This suspect was on top of the police officer, bashing her head in,” the prosecutor said at Joseph Merrill’s first arraignment.
Merrill wasn’t there in person, but prosecutors told the judge the only reason this attack on Officer Jennifer Johnson stopped was because of Sgt. Rudlaff’s intervention.
Merrill was initially charged with attempted murder and then the State Attorney’s Office changed the charge to aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer – also a first-degree felony. Merrill faces up to 30 years in prison.
“The State Attorney’s Office, they know what’s best, and they’re gonna do what is best for this case. And, you know, I’m okay with it,” said Johnson about the change in the official charge.
“Do you still think about him?” Joy asked.
“I don’t. I do not. I remember the first day that we had courts, where we were going to hear, you know how he pled,” she said. “And whenever he came out into the courtroom, I looked at him and I just felt at peace. I didn’t feel afraid, I didn’t feel angry. I just felt at peace.”
“I’m here, I’m breathing, I’m alive, I’m still able to be a mother to my children.”
The recovery
The results of the beating Officer Johnson took that February morning can be seen in her X-Ray. The hits broke her jaw – literally shifting her bottom teeth into two rows – forcing her to eat through syringes for weeks.
In the moment it was all happening, she said she felt no pain, but when she pulled up to the location where officers were taking Joseph Merrill into custody, she remembers their faces.
“I remember when I got out of my car, and they were standing up the suspect, and they all looked at me and their eyes got like, huge you know, because no one really realized how bad it was that I had been punched. So, I remember looking at them, and telling them, ‘I’m okay. It’s okay.’”
“A rescue arrived, and I knew the whole crew. And I remember them saying, ‘Oh no, Jennifer, like, Oh no!’ So, I got in the back of the rescue. And that is honestly the moment when I felt the pain and I was realizing what had just happened,” she shared. “I knew at that point I was going to be okay, everyone else is okay, the suspects in custody, I can now be the patient and get the care and treatment that I need.”
Metal now lines her gums -- the same anchors doctors used to wire her jaw shut for three weeks following the attack. Johnson tells Joy the metal will stay put for now as doctors figure out what’s next to help her heal.
Johnson says her face swelling and massive headaches are slowly subsiding. The multiple other fractures in her face are also healing as she waits to hear how many more surgeries she will need.
The family’s support
Memories from the hours after the attack are still fresh and emotional as Johnson thinks about her three children and the events that February morning.
“I remember when I was in the hospital in the ER room, I wanted to talk to my children so badly,” Johnson told Joy. “And I did I call them. I FaceTimed them and just to see their little tears, you know, running down their little cheeks, it was tough to see.”
Johnson’s two youngest children talked about their own memories from that day.
“She had a boo boo and was bleeding,” 5-year-old Madalynn told Joy.
“In here, this side of her teeth….”6-year-old Mason pointed while describing his mom’s injuries.
“Yeah, and she was bleeding everywhere on her face, right, like right here,” Madalynn added.
“What did you say to her when you saw her,” Joy asked.
“I hope you feel better, mommy,” Mason answered.
Johnson’s boyfriend, a retired Jacksonville firefighter, rushed to meet her at the hospital.
“I’ve always known she was tough,” Roy Scott said. “I could see right there that this isn’t going to define her or change her.”
“She’s got so much strength, and I’m so proud of her. She’s, she’s an amazing woman,” he added.
Johnson’s oldest child, 13-year-old Madison, knows her mother’s job is an important one.
“I know that she is making Jacksonville one of the better places and she is doing her best to protect us,” she said.
Johnson is determined to finish the fight -- and keep doing what she was meant to do.
“Do you still want to be a police officer?” Joy asked.
“Absolutely,” she answered. “You know, a really bad thing happened to me, yes, but it’s not going to change who I am and what I want to do. I’m very passionate about, you know, this career and he’ll never take that from me. Nobody will.”
“You keep smiling and you keep talking positively, and you keep looking ahead? How do you do that all the time?” Joy asked.
“It’s just who I am. You know, it’s my heart and my faith in God. That’s what’s got me through this,” Johnson answered. “And I knew that day God had me, and he will continue to have me, and he provides that strength, honestly. And I want to be that positive, shining light for others -- for my children, you know. I want them to see my strength and just hold on to that. And I know, not one person can ever take that for me and certainly not him.”
Joseph Merrill pleaded not guilty to the four felony charges filed against him: Aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, carrying a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, depriving an officer of means of protection or communication, and petit theft. His next scheduled court hearing is May 24.