The Alabama deputy sheriff who survived the shooting that left his friend and co-worker dead spoke out publicly for the first time Friday.
In a Facebook post, 30-year-old Bibb County deputy Chris Poole lauded slain Deputy Brad Johnson, 32. Poole also said he forgive suspect Austin Patrick Hall for shooting him but said he hasn’t yet forgiven him for the killing of Johnson.
“You’re my hero, brother,’’ Poole wrote of Deputy Johnson. “We didn’t deserve this brother. You didn’t deserve this.”
The shooting happened about 4 p.m. Wednesday when Poole and Johnson were chasing Hall, a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, in a stolen vehicle. Authorities said Hall pulled a gun and shot both deputies.
The deputies were rushed to UAB Hospital via a massive police escort along Interstate 65.
Johnson, 32, was shot in the head. He was officially pronounced dead at 3:18 p.m. Thursday.
Poole was released Wednesday night and is recovering.
Hall, 26, is charged with three counts of capital murder and one count of attempted murder. The convicted felon, who has been arrested on at least 46 criminal charges since he was 17, is being held without bond in the Shelby County Jail.
Poole wrote that Johnson became a police officer in 2014 when he was jailer. Poole later became Johnson’s dispatcher and, in 2017, started riding with Johnson as a reserve deputy.
Poole eventually became a sworn deputy.
He talked about the good times they shared – fishing together and play dates with their children.
“I love you Brad and I don’t know right now how the sheriff’s office will make it without you,’’ Poole wrote. “I don’t know right now how to live this life without you in it.”
Poole said Johnson taught him so much about law enforcement, and about life.
“I will always remember the good and will never forget you,’’ he wrote. “A piece of my heart is in heaven with you.”
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Poole also addressed Hall.
“To the dude who shot me, I forgive you for what you done to me, and I’m thankful that you’ve been caught so you’ll spend the rest of your life behind the block walls,’’ Poole wrote. “But what you done to my friend I can’t say I forgive you yet.”
“We serve a mighty, just God that I know can change my mind, my heart, but you took my friend. I hope I get the opportunity to face you in court and ask you, ‘Why?’’’ he wrote. “Why did you shoot us? Me and Brad both care about people and wasn’t rude or disrespectful to anyone.”
“You could have ran on foot, after that long, high speed chase but to shoot us, to kill my friend?’’ Poole wrote.
“You see, you may think you took two law enforcement officers off the force but you didn’t,’’ he wrote. “You made one stronger on earth (after I recover- still gonna be a while), and one a deputy in heaven. Can you image the strength the two of us will have now?”
“So together we’ll still fight crime all the way from Heaven to the county of Bibb,’’ he wrote. “I’m sorry, Brad, that you left this earthly world.”
