On June 29, 2022, 32-year-old Bibb County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Johnson and his partner, Deputy Chris Poole, pursued a stolen vehicle in rural Bibb County near Centreville, Alabama. The chase ended when the suspect opened fire on the two deputies. Both officers were struck; Johnson suffered a critical head wound and was airlifted to a hospital, where he died on June 30, 2022. Poole survived and later recovered.

The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Austin Patrick Hall, was the focus of a 16-hour manhunt before being captured and taken into custody. Hall was later indicted on three counts of capital murder in connection with Deputy Johnson’s death, one count of attempted murder for the shooting of Deputy Poole, and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Johnson, a K-9 officer, had his organs donated by his family.

The case prompted attention to Alabama’s correctional good time law after it emerged Hall had been released from prison months before the shooting, and the state agreed to a one million dollar settlement with Johnson’s family. Anyone with information about the events leading up to the shooting or Hall’s activities in Bibb County is asked to come forward.