Though the Dallas shooter made his intentions clear over the course of Thursday night, the investigation into the path that led him to allegedly murder five police officers and wound seven others is still taking shape.
One thing that police have determined is that Micah Johnson was a veteran of the Army Reserve and Afghanistan.
Now, as CBS DFW reports, new information emerging about Johnson suggests that he began to display troubling behavior long before the night of fatal violence he perpetrated upon Dallas.
It was during his time serving in Afghanistan that Johnson, who had no official ties to terrorism or a criminal record at the time, faced a serious allegation from a female fellow soldier.
According to military lawyer Bradford Glendening, the 25-year-old Johnson “had been accused of sexually harassing a female soldier and had to leave the service” in April 2015.
The New York Daily News describes the result of Johnson’s “unwanted overtures” towards that soldier, Ana Ma — which allegedly included him “stealing girls’ panties”:
“After lodging a complaint against the Army reservist, Ma requested the military equivalent of a restraining order to keep Johnson away from her and her family — and suggested psychiatric care for her tormentor.”
At that point, Johnson was sent home by Army officials, who recommended that he receive something “other than honorable discharge” — a request that Glendening noted was highly unusual.
Ultimately, however, Johnson was honorably discharged — though it remains unclear why this was the case in the face of such allegations.
Dallas shooter was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier while in Afghanistan. Army let him cop a plea. http://bit.ly/2aaE83E
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) July 10, 2016
After Johnson was identified as the Dallas shooter, other fellow reservists also reportedly weighed in with their own opinions of him, like Wells Newsome, who claimed to be a former bunkmate:
“We all knew he was a pervert cuz he got caught stealing girls’ panties but murdering cops is a different story.
You really never know what someone is capable of until it’s too late.”
Another fellow reservist, Luis Canto, shared a similar view:
“We all knew he was off, man, but no idea he was capable of that.”
Family friend Myrtle Booker, on the hand, said that she saw a marked change in Johnson after Afghanistan, noting that upon his return he was “withdrawn, didn’t want to talk to people anymore, didn’t believe in God anymore.”
While Johnson’s social media accounts have already suggested that he identified with groups that called for the killing of police officers — something he himself stated during his standoff with authorities in Dallas — these revelations, if true, would provide further background on a man who was not an honorable soldier prior to carrying out the heinous murders that July night.
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Source: independent journal
The post Dallas Police Shooter was a Veteran, But a Disturbing Incident in Afghanistan Led to Hasty Discharge appeared first on .@tonygreene113.
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