Man Shot By Off-Duty Foley Officer Dies

January 19, 2009

The man who was shot by an off-duty Foley police officer in late December at a Pensacola bar in an apparent racial altercation has died.Johnny Cloud, 37, was shot once in the abdomen by off-duty Foley officer Maurice Wiley at Boomerzzz Lounge on New Warrington Road in Pensacola about 2:30 a.m. on December 27. Officials originally identified Cloud as being from Century; however, family members said he is from Pensacola.

Wiley, who is black, entered the lounge about 2:30 a.m., and three white men began making racial slurs, according to a news release from the Foley Police Department. Wiley decided to leave bar after one of the three men said he was going to get a pistol, but he was confronted by the three men in the parking lot, according to the Foley release.

Cloud allegedly tried to sneak up behind Wiley with a knife. That’s when Wiley identified himself as a police officer, and ordered Cloud to drop the knife. When Cloud continued toward Wiley, Wiley fired a single shot that hit Cloud in the abdomen, according to authorities.

Escambia authorities say several witnesses confirmed Wiley’s story.

Wiley was placed on paid administrative leave by the Foley Police Department. He was later cleared by the Foley Police Department of any wrongdoing.

Comments

5 Responses to “Man Shot By Off-Duty Foley Officer Dies”

  1. Jay on January 20th, 2009 1:51 pm

    dbg… The shooting happened outside the bar in the parking lot. Nowhere in the article did it state that the off duty police officer had the gun in the bar. In accordance with the “Make my day law,” this shooting was justifible – by a police officer or by a citizen not withstanding.

  2. dbg on January 20th, 2009 10:09 am

    Florida allows concealed carry anywhere except schools, federal buildings, courthouses and inside of bars. Restaurants that serve alcohol do not count as bars unless they make more than 51% of their profit from alcohol sales. You also are not supposed to carry if you are in a restaurant sitting AT THE BAR where alcohol is served. Anywhere else is a matter of whether or not you see a posted sign and whether or not you choose to carry.

  3. Chuck on January 19th, 2009 8:41 pm

    Police officers are allowed by law to carry weapons on their person anytime and anywhere. Sad as it is for both parties, this was a righteous shoot.

  4. dbg on January 19th, 2009 10:00 am

    Am I wrong or isn’t there a “law” that no one, (even a police officer off duty) is supposed to carry a firearm into a bar? Did this police officer have the weapon on him while in the bar, or did he go to the car and get the weapon? Because if he got the weapon from the car, he had time to get in the car and leave. If he had the weapon on him in the bar, wasn’t he breaking the law? I wonder.

  5. zeke on January 19th, 2009 9:00 am

    I think that the officer did the right thing. I do wonder what kind of reaction would there have been if the officer had been white and the racial roles reversed. Even with all “The Change” we have going on there would still have been a loud uproar. If this Great Country is so equal now this is something that needs “Major Change”.