Police department clears officer in fatal shooting

ST. PETERSBURG — Three city police officers involved in a fatal shooting late last year have been cleared by their own department.

A shooting review board convened Tuesday by Police Chief Chuck Harmon ruled the officers' actions justified.

Officers George Graves, 26, Michael Karayianes, 26, and Michael Romano, 29, will return to their patrol duties Wednesday.

The officers have been on inside duty since the Dec. 26 shooting of John A. Johnson, who refused to drop his gun minutes after officers witnessed him shooting another man he had argued with earlier that day.

Johnson, 49, a city employee, initiated a standoff with the officers near 18th Terrace S and 38th Street. He told the officers they'd have to shoot him and turned toward them with his gun in his hand, according to a memo from Harmon.

The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office released a report Jan. 20 that also ruled the incident justifiable homicide.