texas

Fort Worth Officer Who Shot Man By Mistake Allowed to Resign

Officer Courtney Johnson had been fired but now will get back pay

A Fort Worth police officer who appealed his termination for mistakenly shooting a mentally ill man was allowed to resign and his suspension was reduced to 65 days, according to city records released Wednesday.

Officer Courtney Johnson was originally fired by Chief Joel Fitzgerald for shooting Craigory Adams, on June 23, 2015. Adams was holding a barbecue fork. Johnson said he shot Adams by mistake.

Johnson was accused of aggravated assault but his trial last year ended in mistrial after the jury deadlocked. Prosecutors did not retry him.

City officials declined to reveal the outcome of Johnson’s appeal of his firing last month. NBC 5 obtained the documents under the Texas open records law.

City officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how much in back pay Johnson will receive.

“My actions, although not intentional, brought criticism upon the Fort Worth Police Department and garnered criticism from the community,” Johnson wrote in his Feb. 27 resignation letter. “For this, I am truly sorry. I am also sorry for the injuries Craigory Adams suffered due to this unfortunate incident.”

NBC 5's Cory Minderhout contributed to this report.

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