Juston Root: Police Shooting, Investigation, and Lawsuit

The Juston Root police shooting took place on February 7, 2020, when Boston police and a Massachusetts State Police trooper fired more than 30 rounds at the 41-year-old Mattapan man in roughly three seconds, killing him at the end of a three-mile chase from Brigham and Women’s Hospital to Chestnut Hill in Brookline. Root, who had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, was carrying a replica firearm — described in later court filings as an uncharged plastic paintball pistol — not a working gun. Prosecutors in two counties cleared the officers, federal courts dismissed the family’s wrongful death lawsuit on qualified immunity grounds, and body camera footage that surfaced afterward contradicted key elements of the official account.¹

What Happened on February 7, 2020

At around 9:20 a.m., a security guard at Brigham and Women’s Hospital called 911 to report a man with a gun near 60 Fernwood Road in Boston. Root had reportedly brandished what appeared to be a firearm and claimed to be a law enforcement officer.¹ His family later described the day’s behavior as a mental health episode. His mother told reporters he had recently seemed manic and she believed he was off his medication; a December 2019 court filing indicated Root was “refusing all antipsychotic medications.”²

Boston Police Officer David Godin arrived and was confronted by Root, who pointed the replica weapon at him. Godin retreated, fell backward, and fired. Officer Michael St. Peter, seeing Godin on the ground and Root advancing, also opened fire. The two officers fired 15 shots.³ A ricocheting round struck Justin Desmarais, a 50-year-old hospital valet, in the head above his right eye. Desmarais survived but sustained a traumatic brain injury and partial vision loss.⁴

Wounded, Root limped to his car and drove off. Police pursued him roughly three miles into Brookline, where he crashed at the intersection of Hammond Street and Route 9. Officers from the Boston Police Department and at least one state trooper confronted him. According to the official account, they ordered him to drop the gun, and when he did not comply, six officers opened fire simultaneously. Root was hit at least 31 times in about three seconds and died at Beth Israel Hospital.¹

The Weapon Root Was Carrying

The item recovered at the scene was a black semi-automatic BB pistol, also described in court filings as an “uncharged, unloaded, clear, plastic paintball pistol” incapable of firing a lethal projectile.⁵ Root’s family said he sometimes wore the paintball gun in a shoulder holster under the delusion that he was a police officer.

Body Camera Footage Versus the Official Account

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office released a report on March 9, 2020, concluding the officers’ actions were “objectively reasonable and justified” and stating that multiple officers yelled “gun” before firing.⁶

Body camera footage later obtained by the Boston Globe and reviewed by WBUR contained no audio of any officer shouting that Root had a gun before the volley of shots. Officers can be heard telling Root to get down and put his hands up, but there is no audible reference to a weapon.⁷ Four of the officers involved — Godin, Joseph McMenamy, Corey Thomas, and Leroy Fernandes — did not have their body cameras activated during the shooting itself.⁸

The footage also captured comments after the shooting. According to the family’s federal complaint, Godin was recorded saying, “Yeah, I killed that motherfucker” and “I emptied my magazine on him.” State Trooper Paul Conneely told McMenamy to “shut your fuckin’ mouth” and asked whether he had a union representative coming. McMenamy responded, “I won’t talk.” An unidentified officer in plain clothes said, “Don’t say nothing to nobody.”⁹

Root’s family contended that when officers opened fire at the crash site, he was “defenseless, on the ground, semi-comatose, and bleeding profusely” and was not holding any weapon.⁷ The Norfolk DA’s office said it stood by its original report.

What the Two District Attorneys Concluded

The case fell under two prosecutorial jurisdictions because the events crossed county lines. The fatal shooting in Chestnut Hill belonged to Norfolk County; the initial confrontation at the hospital fell under Suffolk County.

Norfolk DA Morrissey cleared all six officers 30 days after the shooting, a timeline the Root family later criticized as too fast for a thorough investigation.¹⁰ Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden released his own review on February 13, 2023, nearly three years after the incident. That 54-page report, prepared by Special Assistant District Attorney John Dawley, concluded that Officers Godin and St. Peter acted reasonably at the hospital and that “neither of the involved officers’ actions were objectively unreasonable.” Hayden closed the investigation without prosecution.³

The Federal Lawsuit and Its Dismissal

In August 2020, Root’s sister, Jennifer Root Bannon, filed a federal wrongful death suit on behalf of his estate in U.S. District Court in Boston. The complaint named the City of Boston, five Boston officers (David Godin, Joseph McMenamy, Leroy Fernandes, Brenda Figueroa, and Corey Thomas), and State Trooper Paul Conneely.⁵ It alleged seven counts including wrongful death, excessive force, assault and battery, deprivation of due process, and negligent training and supervision.¹¹

U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns dismissed the suit, ruling that the officers had not violated the Fourth Amendment and were protected by qualified immunity. He found that they reasonably interpreted Root’s actions as a threat.¹¹ The family appealed.

In 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the dismissal. Judge Sandra Lynch wrote that the officers “acted reasonably under the circumstances.” Judge Lara Montecalvo dissented, pointing to inconsistencies in officer testimony, the failure of multiple officers to activate their body cameras, and the fact that officers conferred with lawyers before providing statements. Those factors, she wrote, gave “significant reasons to discount the officers’ stories.”¹²

The Michael Proctor Connection

The case drew renewed attention because of former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who worked on the Root investigation and later served as lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case. Proctor was fired from the state police in March 2025 after a trial board concluded he had sent derogatory text messages about a suspect in the Read case and had driven his police cruiser under the influence of alcohol.¹³ He withdrew his Civil Service Commission appeal in October 2025 after the Norfolk DA’s office disclosed data pulled from his phone.¹⁴

The Root family alleged that Proctor and his supervisor Yuri Bukhenik, who also worked the Read case, had told the family that Root had shot at someone and refused to drop a weapon.⁹ Jennifer Root Bannon called for a “release, review and disclosure” of Proctor’s involvement, saying, “Accountability cannot be selective. If Michael Proctor’s conduct, texts and communications are important enough to scrutinize in one case, then every family affected by his investigations deserves to know whether those same issues played a role in their loved one’s case.”¹⁵ The Norfolk DA’s office reviewed nearly 20 of Proctor’s past cases and said no new evidence warranted reopening the Root investigation.¹⁶

Pressure to Change How Massachusetts Investigates Police Shootings

Jennifer Root Bannon became one of the state’s most visible advocates for changing how Massachusetts investigates police use of lethal force. Her petition demanding an independent investigation into her brother’s death gathered more than 23,000 signatures, and she connected with roughly 500 families across the country who had lost relatives in officer-involved shootings.¹⁶

Massachusetts investigates homicides through 11 county-level units, with state police detectives embedded in district attorneys’ offices. Critics say that arrangement makes prosecutors reluctant to charge officers they work with daily. Massachusetts was described as the only New England state without a centralized, independent unit for investigating police use of lethal force.¹⁶

In October 2024, Governor Maura Healey appointed Lt. Col. Geoffrey D. Noble of the New Jersey State Police to lead the Massachusetts State Police. Noble had worked under New Jersey’s system, which requires independent investigations into fatal police encounters. State police officials cautioned that any structural change would require agreement from all 11 district attorneys, the state police, and the Healey administration. The Middlesex County DA’s office had already adopted its own reform in 2018, using judicial inquests for officer-involved shootings so an independent legal authority reaches the findings rather than the prosecutor’s office alone.

1
MassLive. No Criminal Charges for Boston Police Who Shot and Killed Juston Root
2
The Boston Globe. Mother of Man Killed in Brookline After Chase
3
WBUR. Suffolk County Report Officers Justified in Shooting at Juston Root Near Hospital
4
WCVB. Valet Shot Outside Boston Hospital Sues Employer
5
CBS News Boston. Juston Root Boston Police Shooting Death Lawsuit
6
WHDH. Norfolk DA Finds Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting in Brookline Was Justified
7
NBC Boston. Video of Police Shooting of Juston Root Differs From DA’s Findings Report
8
WBUR. Root v. City of Boston Complaint
9
Vanity Fair. Karen Read Verdict Norfolk County DA
10
NBC Boston. Calls to Review Michael Proctor Past Cases Intensify After Texts Come to Light
11
The Boston Globe. Family of Juston Root Appeal Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Police Shooting
12
Boston.com. Appeals Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over 2020 Fatal Police Shooting in Brookline
13
CBS News Boston. Michael Proctor Massachusetts State Police Karen Read
14
Boston Herald. Michael Proctor Gives Up His Fight to Get His Mass State Police Job Back
15
WCVB. Root Family Proctor Shooting Investigation
16
NBC Boston. Questions About Mass System to Investigate Murder Cases Pile Up