Donald R. Johnston was an investigator with the El Monte Police Department who died on November 22, 2002, at age 48 from an illness described as a direct consequence of a gunshot wound he suffered on January 29, 1990. Johnston was shot in the neck while pushing a civilian out of the line of fire during a bank incident near Valley Mall and Ramona Boulevard, and the wound left him paralyzed below the waist.

Despite his disability Johnston continued working for the department as a background investigator and helicopter observer. The suspect in the 1990 shooting was arrested shortly after the incident but later died by suicide in jail, ending further legal proceedings related to the case.

Anyone who knew Johnston or has memories of the department’s response to the 1990 shooting is asked to share what they remember.