Jan
<p style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-size:180%;”><span class=”textBlack”>Rape suspect overpowers, shoots officer</span></span></p><p>NEW ORLEANS — A vagrant wanted for questioning in a rape overpowered a police officer who was trying to handcuff him, then shot her to death with her own weapon Monday, police said.</p><p>Officer Nicola Cotton, 24, approached the man in her police cruiser and began questioning him. When she tried to handcuff him, the suspect attacked her and a seven-minute fight ensued, said Police Superintendent Warren Riley.</p><p>The officer managed to use her radio during the struggle to call for backup, but the man grabbed her weapon and shot her repeatedly, Riley said.</p><p>The suspect, Bernell Johnson, 44, stayed on the scene until other officers arrived and was arrested, police spokesman Sgt. Joe Narcisse said.</p>
