Overview
- Deputies found the 55-year-old former NFL defensive lineman unresponsive just before 8 a.m. Jan. 21 at a homeless encampment in Willowbrook in the 1300 block of East 120th Street, where he was pronounced dead.
- The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as blunt head trauma and stab wounds and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
- The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau is investigating, has not released suspect information, and is asking anyone with information to contact investigators.
- Authorities say Johnson appeared to be living at the encampment; friends told local media he had health issues after his career that they believe may have included CTE.
- Johnson, a Los Angeles native, was a 1993 fourth-round draft pick who played for the Eagles and Raiders before winning an ArenaBowl with the Orlando Predators; the Raiders issued a public tribute.