Hometown Hero: Sterling Rallies Around Detective Battling Leukemia

By Patrick J. McNally, Reporter

Detective David ‘DJ’ Johnson has served the town of Sterling for over 30 years. Wearing many hats (detective, court officer, etc.), DJ is an active and contributing member to our community, and his friendly demeanor while on the job is always a welcome sight.

In November 2020, officer Johnson was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. In order to fight this battle with all his might, DJ had to stop working at this time.

With many people offering to show their support, a GoFundMe account was created by Lindsay Perry, DJ’s sister-in-law, to help with medical bills and other expenses incurred by the Johnson family.

“With his loving wife (Melissa) and children (David, Lillian, and Emerson) by his side, he has begun aggressive chemotherapy treatments,” Lindsay Perry posted at the time. “The road ahead will be a long and challenging one, but his oncology team is hopeful for a positive outcome.”

On April 16, the Sterling Police Association unveiled a special orange patch in support of Detective Johnson. The bright embroidered patches were available at the station for a $10.00 donation, with all proceeds going to DJ. With a limited supply of 85 to start, the patches were sold out in record time.

“[Due to demand] we will be replenishing the supply,” Sergeant Craig P. Pomeroy replied, when asked if more patches would be made available.

Victor Mendoza, Owner of The Brick Mexican Grill, 27 Main Street, also saw the patch being sold online, and felt inspired to do something as well.

“Right away, I wanted to do something for him,” Mendoza said. “I think it is a good idea to bring the community together.” And come together they did.

“DINNER FOR DJ” was held on Wednesday, April 28, and 100% of sales that day (less tips and taxes) were donated by The Brick to the Johnson family. Customers were asked to include a handwritten message of support for DJ on their bill, which would then be shared with him.

Mendoza said, “I think it would be cool, tomorrow, next week, he can read the messages, so he will know the love that his community has for him.”

With over 40 takeout orders placed prior to opening, and a steady flow of supportive patrons dining throughout the night, the town of Sterling showed up to support one of their own.

Adding perspective, Mendoza stated, “Sometimes we think we have problems; it’s no problem at all. I think we need to be grateful. The response from the people has been amazing.”

The Newfoundland Candle Company was also inspired to act, making their own $2,000.00 donation to Detective Johnson’s family, while also partnering with The Brick for this event.

Danielle and Christopher Sargent, owners and Sterling residents, are very appreciative of all the support they have received since they went public with their home-based, hand poured candle company in January 2021. They wanted to pay it forward.

When discussing the first few months of their business, “It kind of blew up, thanks to the incredible generosity of the Sterling residents,” said Danielle. “Everyone seems to support each other around here. We also donate to The Sterling Animal Shelter monthly, and we wanted to jump on this fundraiser to support DJ, too.”

The Sargents also created special #44 DJ candles, which were available for sale at The Brick for $15.00 each. With over 50 candles sold during the dinner alone, and another 25 special orders at least that followed, all additional proceeds would be donated to the family.

David ‘DJ’ Johnson was not able to comment at this time due to his illness. The GoFundMe account is still active for all who would like to contribute to Johnson and his family.