Fired Millis Police Officer Accused Of Faking Shootout Found Dead

click to expand

MILLIS (CBS) – The Millis police officer who was fired after he was accused of fabricating a shootout that shut down schools and briefly put part of the town on lockdown last summer has died.

Bryan Johnson, 24, was found dead in his home in Millis around 3:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office.

"No signs of foul play were found at the scene. The death is not currently being investigated as a homicide. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has accepted the case for autopsy," Peggie Krippendorf, a spokeswoman for the D.A., said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Bryan Johnson's police SUV was towed away after the fire and crash, Sept. 2, 2015. (WBZ-TV)

A grand jury issued six indictments against Johnson on November 19. He was charged with calling in a bomb threat, misleading a criminal investigation and making a false police report. Johnson's death closes the case.

Investigators say Johnson made up a claim in September that a gunman fired at his cruiser before it crashed into a tree and caught on fire.