McLean, VA (June 17, 2025) - Nicola Cotton, a 24-year-old New Orleans police officer was responding to the call of a possible rape suspect on the loose. She found a man sitting on the curb who fit the description of the possible rapist. As she attempted to arrest and handcuff the man, he violently resisted. After choking and striking Nicola in the head, the man grabbed her .40 caliber Glock service weapon from her holster and fired 15 fatal shots. It turned out that Nicola’s killer, Bernel Johnson, had been diagnosed as mentally ill and dangerous just three weeks before the murder. He had been forcibly committed to the state’s mental health care system. But, for unknown reasons, he was soon released. And adding to the tragic circumstances of Nicola’s murder was the fact that Johnson turned out not to be the rape suspect sought by police. New Orleans Assistant Police Superintendent Marlon Defillo remembered Nicola fondly. He said, “Her legacy is that she brought a spirit to the Police Department—with a smile. This giving person smiled every single day. I would joke with her and say, ‘Nicola, do you ever frown?’ And she’d said, ‘No, Chief.’” And she had a big heart. Nicola was known to carry a stash of $1 bills to pass out to the homeless while on patrol. Listen to the podcast to learn more.
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