MEMPHIS, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A transgendered woman who planned to sue the Memphis police for physical abuse has been shot and killed.
Duanna Johnson, 43, died of a bullet wound to the head Sunday night, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported. Police identified the victim as Dwayne Johnson, but lawyer Murray Wells said his client was generally known as Duanna.
Wells said he now plans to sue the department on behalf of Johnson's estate. He said he is in touch with her mother, who lives in Kenosha, Wis.
"There'll be just a couple of legal hoops we'll have to jump through," he said. "The case is, I think, just as strong as it was before, especially with the video."
Two police officers, Bridges McRae and James Swain, were fired after Johnson's attorneys released a video showing her being beaten. She had been arrested on a prostitution charge.
Wells said he talked to Johnson Saturday. She told him she wanted to get out of Memphis and talked of taking a bus to Chicago.
