One of the two Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputies who was shot in the head on 6/29/22 from a police motor vehicle pursuit and died on 6/30/22 . Brad Johnson,32, was an organ donor. Johnson was a K9 officer and his K9 partner was K9 Bodie. The incident began on the evening of June 29 after Deputy Johnson, 32, and BCSO Deputy Chris Poole, 30, spotted a suspected stolen vehicle. The deputies pursued the vehicle until the driver – later identified as 26-year-old convicted felon Austin Patrick Hall opened fire on them along Highway 25 in the Brierfield area. Brad Johnson and Chris Poole were transported to University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital for treatment. A 16-agency manhunt ensued with local, state, and federal law enforcement officers working together to track down the gunman. The U.S. Marshals Service announced that Hall had been captured in the morning on 6/29/22 The man accused of shooting Johnson and Deputy Chris Poole, was is not facing life-threatening injuries. Deputy Poole survived the attack and was released from the hospital to continue his recovery at home on 6/28/22, On the morning 6/30/22 Sheriff Johnson’s brain activity was minimal and doctors would take the fallen hero off life support later in the afternoon. Deputy Johnson, a K9 handler who served the BCSO for more than seven years. In addition to his service as a law enforcement officer, Deputy Johnson was also a former volunteer firefighter. Deputy Johnson “grew up in the fire department” after becoming a volunteer firefighter explorer at the age of 14. He eventually became a lieutenant with the fire department. He was surrounded by his family when he was pronounced dead at 3:18 p.m. He leaves behind his fiancé and his two children.
Austin Patric Hall (Previous Records) In October 2019, Hall escaped from the Camden Work Release Center. He had started a nearly 10-year sentence the previous year after being found guilty of second-degree theft of property. While he was being held in the Calhoun County Jail in 2020 after his recapture, court records show, authorities say Hall attack an officer and tried to choke him. He was charged with second-degree assault. Hall in April was booked into the Chilton County Jail in connection with a 2019 third-degree burglary. He was released April 20, 2022, after posting $22,500 bond. Hall has a lengthy criminal history. Hall has an extensive criminal history that dates back to 2012 with 46 charges since he was 17. He was indicted in May on 10 charges of second-degree receiving stolen property, reckless endangerment, second-degree assault, illegally carrying a firearm, drug possession, resisting arrest, attempting to elude, and third-degree burglary in Calhoun County, but was out on bond when he opened fire on the deputies.
Hall was apprehended in the Bulldog Bend area of Bibb County at about 8:50 a.m. on June 30, The U.S. Marshal Service was offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to Hall’s arrest. Austin Patrick Hall, 26, will be arraigned on 7/1/22 on charges of capital murder and attempted murder. Hall is being held without bond in Shelby County Jail. On August 3, 2023 Hall pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and will undergo evaluations to determine if he is mentally capable of undergoing a trial. Hall is facing the death penalty or life in prison.
