Gary Craig and Victoria E. Freile

Staff writers

Daryl Pierson never fired a shot.

He'd chased Thomas Johnson III for more than a block. This wasn't new for the Rochester police officer. He'd chased drug dealers, parole violators and suspected killers before — and caught all of them.

But this time, police allege, Johnson turned on Pierson and fired off a single shot from a .25-caliber Raven handgun, a palm-sized pistol with a defaced serial number.

The shot struck Pierson — where, police did not say — and proved fatal for the 32-year-old officer. Johnson now faces aggravated murder and other criminal charges that could, according to District Attorney Sandra Doorley, lead to a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Several officers carried the gravely injured Pierson to a car Wednesday evening "and got him to Rochester General (Hospital)," Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli said. Doctors worked with "absolute fury" and "tried to pull off a miracle which was not to be."

At 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Pierson — a broad-shouldered married father of two who'd served in Afghanistan — was pronounced dead at Rochester General Hospital.

Each homicide ignites a chain of events: a police investigation, a prosecution when a suspect is found, mourning by those who loved the victim.

But the fatal shooting of a police officer — a tragedy that has not happened in Rochester since 1959 — is different. A police force is shaken but driven. A community is stunned while supportive of those who serve. And the media eye is far greater, far more intense, than that which accompanies other killings.

Yet the central questions are the same as with any investigation: How did the accused and the slain end up where they did?

Johnson, for his part, was only weeks removed from prison. He'd served nearly three years for an attempted robbery. He'd pleaded guilty to that crime after being charged initially with robbery.

Johnson, whose mixed-message stomach tattoos ranged from a cross with a rose to the words "thug life," completed the sentence for robbery in 2013, but then violated parole by missing meetings with his officer. He was imprisoned again for a year on his parole violation.

After his release in August, Johnson, now 38, missed an Aug. 19 meeting with his officer, and could not be found. Parole officials issued a warrant for his arrest on Aug. 27.

On Wednesday evening, just before 9:20 p.m., two Rochester police tactical officers stopped a car on Hudson Avenue in northeast Rochester. They'd seen two people in the vehicle, but after the stop only one was inside, Ciminelli said.

At news conferences Thursday, Ciminelli declined to say why police stopped the vehicle.

Pierson and his partner, Officer Michael DiPaola, 41, answered a call for backup, and set out in search of the second man seen in the car. They spotted a man who matched the description. That man — Johnson, police allege — then sprinted south on Hudson Avenue.

As Pierson chased on foot, DiPaola pursued in the police car. At Hudson and Agnes Street, Pierson caught Johnson, who shot the officer, police allege.

Pierson and Johnson fell to the ground, and Johnson's gun apparently discharged another round that hit a bystander. Police identified him as 24-year-old Jamal Boller. His injury was not life-threatening, Ciminelli said.

DiPaola left the police car and continued the chase. Johnson allegedly fired once at DiPaola, who returned fire with a single shot. That round hit Johnson, who was then arrested at the scene, police said.

Johnson and Boller were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital, where Johnson was arraigned Thursday night on eight criminal charges arising from the alleged murder, shootings and the weapons possession. As a felon, he could not have a firearm.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is now working with Monroe County crime technicians to see whether the defaced serial number can be detected from the gun.

Johnson's criminal record includes a felony weapons possession conviction in Florida. Police are also researching an arrest there on the alleged battery of a police officer, Doorley said.

According to court records, the 64-year-old victim in the 2010 Rochester robbery alleged Johnson "grabbed me from behind and put his arm around my neck." The man tried to break free, but Johnson told him he had a gun.

The victim tossed his wallet on the street, tried to negotiate with Johnson, then scuffled with him, records say. Johnson ran off with the wallet, the victim said.

Police arrested Johnson after he dropped the wallet while being chased. The victim thought Johnson might have had a gun in his pocket, but none was found.

Johnson also previously served a year in local jail for second-degree criminal trespass.

In April 2009, a Rochester police officer tried to stop Johnson for allegedly drinking a 24-ounce beer in public, court records show.

Johnson pulled out what the officer said was "a silver/black object that appeared to be a revolver" then ran. The officer chased him for several blocks then lost him.

Johnson was later arrested after being identified by the officer from a photo array.

On Thursday, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren vowed that the city would hold accountable Pierson's killer and any who "decide to pull that trigger" in a violent act.

"A family has lost a loved one, RPD lost a family member and Rochester lost someone who put his life on the line for us every day," she said.

"This tragedy goes to the core of our greatest fears," she said and asked community members to reach out to police officers and take the time to understand their jobs.

Shortly after dawn Thursday, City Councilman Adam McFadden spoke of his outrage from the then-closed stretch of Hudson Avenue. Officers had remained at the scene overnight to investigate.

"We've seen people all over this country get upset when an officer kills an unarmed person," McFadden said. "We should be equally upset when a person kills an officer that is trying to bring peace to our community."

As he spoke, children headed to school, walking past the cordoned-off crime scene to board school buses.

At a news conference Thursday, Michael Mazzeo, the head of the Rochester police union who was clearly shaken by the loss of a fellow policeman, encouraged his colleagues and area residents to bond together "as we heal going forward."

Ciminelli said the fallen officer had "made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the people of Rochester."

He said that an outpouring of love and support from the community has helped the 732-member department cope with the sudden loss.

In the case of tragedy, he said, the department has a written plan on how to handle the investigation and its aftermath, including supporting Pierson's family and one another.

"We plan and we train for it," he said, "but you can't plan and train for something like this."

GCRAIG@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/gcraig1

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/vfreile

Includes reporting by staff writer Will Cleveland.