An off-duty Metropolitan Police Department officer, Robert L. Johnson Jr., 31, was shot dead in April 1997 after a brief traffic dispute. Johnson, a seven-year veteran, had stopped with a friend in separate cars and inadvertently blocked another driver’s path. That driver, Maurice A. Douglas, became angry, left, then returned a short time later with 18-year-old Dominic Gibson. The two men ambushed Johnson near the 6th District police station; a fellow officer with Johnson was also struck but survived.

Douglas and Gibson were arrested and later convicted of first-degree murder. Both received life sentences. Johnson was a husband and father of two young children; his killing sent shock through the department and the community.

Were there witnesses who saw the cars arrive together or anyone who can add detail about the moments before the shooting?