Questions Grow After Forest Acres Officer Fatally Shoots Man Outside Crowded Club
- CUBNSC
- 17 hours ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
By Javar Juarez | CUBNSC | Crime Watch
Columbia, S.C. — In the early morning hours of Mother’s Day 2026, a Forest Acres police officer fired his weapon multiple times outside Relapse Bar & Grill on Two Notch Road. A man is dead. A mother is grieving her son.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced Sunday morning that it is investigating an overnight officer-involved shooting at 5024 Two Notch Road, the location known as Relapse Bar & Grill.
The officer at the center of the shooting is Corporal Daniel Haddad of the Forest Acres Police Department, an officer who was publicly promoted by the department in October 2023. The deceased has been identified by community members and social media posts as Cody Johnson, though Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford had not officially released the victim’s identity as of publication.
According to Sheriff Leon Lott’s public account during a Sunday press conference, Officer Haddad heard gunshots in the area around approximately 3:30 a.m., observed a vehicle being driven erratically, activated his blue lights, and followed the vehicle into the parking lot of Relapse Bar & Grill. Lott stated that the officer repeatedly ordered the driver to stop before discharging his weapon “numerous times,” claiming the driver’s actions endangered lives.
The parking lot, by Lott’s own description, was “absolutely packed,” with vehicles “stacked on top of each other” and patrons throughout the area.
That detail does not calm concerns. It sharpens them.
If the lot was as densely crowded as described, with security personnel and civilians surrounding the scene, the question becomes unavoidable: how was discharging multiple rounds in a packed parking lot considered the safer option?
That question has not yet been publicly answered.
When reporters pressed Lott on whether the deceased had fired at police officers, Lott corrected the premise directly and said no. The deceased was not accused during the press conference of firing at officers.
That means the public justification for lethal force, based on the sheriff’s own remarks, rests primarily on how the vehicle was allegedly being operated and the perceived danger it presented in a chaotic environment.
What the public has been given is the outcome. The escalation remains largely unexplained.
Forest Acres Calls RCSD Investigation an “Outside Investigation”
Following Sheriff Leon Lott’s press conference, the Forest Acres Police Department released an official statement describing the Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigation as an “outside investigation” into the deadly officer-involved shooting connected to Corporal Daniel Haddad.
In the statement, Forest Acres Police said Chief Don Robinson personally called in the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and its Officer Involved Shooting Investigative Team “to show his and the city’s commitment to transparency in this ongoing investigation.”
The release also confirmed that Haddad has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation and noted that he has been employed by the department since July 2021.
But the characterization of the investigation as “outside” may itself become part of the public debate.
During Sunday’s press conference, Sheriff Leon Lott acknowledged that the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Columbia Police Department, and Forest Acres Police Department routinely coordinate operations, monitor one another’s radio traffic, and respond across jurisdictional lines together.
That operational closeness is one reason some observers may question whether RCSD can truly be viewed by the public as fully independent in a case involving a Forest Acres officer.
The concern is heightened by the longstanding institutional relationship between the agencies. Forest Acres Police Chief Don Robinson spent nearly 30 years with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department before becoming Forest Acres police chief in 2022, serving previously as Captain and Region Two Commander for the area surrounding Forest Acres.
While the Richland County Critical Incident Team is legally authorized and specifically trained to investigate officer-involved shootings, questions surrounding perceived independence often extend beyond legal standards alone. Public confidence in deadly force investigations frequently depends on whether the investigating agency appears sufficiently removed from the departments involved.
At this stage, it remains unclear whether SLED participation was formally considered, requested, or declined before RCSD assumed control of the investigation.
The Forest Acres release emphasizes transparency. Whether the public ultimately views the investigation as independent may depend on what evidence, body camera footage, and investigative findings are eventually made public.
What the Press Conference Prioritized — And What It Didn’t
A substantial portion of Sheriff Leon Lott’s remarks focused not on the tactical decisions surrounding the shooting itself, but on an extended condemnation of Relapse Bar & Grill, its ownership, and its history of disturbances.
Lott vowed publicly to pursue efforts to permanently shut the club down, criticizing both the business and its operators for continuing activity at the scene while the investigation unfolded.
That emphasis stood out because the investigation into the actual shooting remains in its earliest stages.
The scrutiny surrounding Relapse now extends beyond the sheriff’s criticism. A public statement posted by Rapp Dolla “on behalf of everyone at Relapse” expressed condolences to the victim’s family while suggesting the situation “could have been handled differently” and arguing that the matter could have been resolved through “a simple citation.”
But questions remain about who officially speaks for the establishment.
Richland County GIS records list the property at 5024 Two Notch Road under “5024 TWO NOTCH RD LLC,” tied to an address in Sun Valley, California. However, a search of South Carolina Secretary of State business records did not immediately show an active South Carolina entity under that exact name.
That discrepancy does not establish wrongdoing, but it raises additional questions about ownership, operational control, licensing, and who exactly represents the business publicly while a deadly officer-involved shooting investigation is underway.
At the same time, the central questions surrounding the shooting itself remain unanswered:
— What was the exact nature of the threat facing the officer? — Was the vehicle moving toward officers or civilians when shots were fired? — How far away was the officer from the vehicle? — Were alternative tactics considered? — Does body camera footage support the officer’s stated perception of imminent danger? — Were the original gunshots heard by officers connected to the deceased at all? — What role, if any, did club security or patrons play in the moments leading up to the shooting?
Sheriff Lott did not publicly answer those questions during Sunday’s press conference.
What Comes Next
At this stage, the public has been told that a man is dead, that an officer fired multiple rounds in a crowded parking lot, and that the agencies involved believe the investigation should remain within the same regional law enforcement structure that routinely works together.
What has not yet been released is the evidence the public will ultimately judge for itself: body camera footage, surveillance video, witness statements, forensic findings, and the full timeline leading up to the shooting.
Until then, the central question remains unresolved:
Was deadly force in that crowded parking lot truly unavoidable?
CUBNSC will continue reporting as additional records, footage, and official findings become available.