FORMER OFFICER IN SHOOTING HOAX FOUND DEAD

Bryan Johnson, a former Millis, Mass. officer, claimed that a pickup truck driver fired at his cop car when in fact he himself shot out the windshield

Boston Herald | November 27, 2015

MILLIS, Massachusetts -- A former Millis police officer — indicted last week for allegedly making a hoax bomb threat and faking a shootout — was found dead in his home before dawn on Thanksgiving Day, authorities said.

Bryan Johnson, 24, was found at about 3:30 a.m. by a resident of his home, who called police, authorities said. There were no signs of foul play and the death is not currently being investigated as a homicide, a spokeswoman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said.

Last week, a Norfolk County grand jury issued six indictments against Johnson, including new charges stemming from a false bomb threat at Millis High School the same day Johnson is alleged to have staged a shootout with a nonexistent motorist.

According to prosecutors, on Sept. 2, Johnson fired his personal firearm into his own department-issued SUV before telling police that a man in a pickup truck opened fire on his vehicle.

Johnson’s claim forced the community to shelter in place and schools went into lockdown while authorities launched an area-wide manhunt that included about 20 state troopers and detectives, a helicopter, armored cars and more than 50 heavily armed officers from the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council.

Johnson pleaded not guilty at his original arraignment in Wrentham District Court in September.

After his indictment last week, he was to be arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court at a later date.

“While Mr. Johnson continues to enjoy the constitutional presumption of his innocence, we believe the scope of the conduct alleged here makes Superior Court the appropriate venue,” Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said in a statement last week.

Johnson faced more than 40 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which included calling in the fake bomb threat, misleading a criminal investigation, making a false police report and willful destruction of property for damage to his cruiser windshield by shooting a firearm into it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Another nutcase that slipped through the cracks during the pre-employment screening. I suspect a medical examination will show that he took his own life.