Mother of 2017 CSU shooting survivor gets Master's degree to help improve policing, thank responding officers

The stepmother of a woman who survived a gunman's attack near the campus of Colorado State University in 2017 is now hoping to help out first responders who helped save her daughter's life.

Kristen Johnson graduated on Friday with a Master's degree in social work from CSU. She said she used the tragedy her family went through as inspiration for her capstone project. 

Johnson and her fellow classmates used their capstone project to study recruitment and retention issues in the profession of law enforcement. The idea to study the topic, for Johnson, was largely fueled by a shooting just west of CSU's campus in October of 2017. 

"It was a horrific night, absolutely. That is a phone call no parent ever wants to receive," Johnson told CBS News Colorado reporter Dillon Thomas.  

Johnson's daughter, Megan Dierker, was in Fort Collins to celebrate her best friend's birthday, Savannah McNealy on Oct. 19 of 2017. McNealy was a CSU student who was dating an Air Force cadet from Wyoming.  

After a night out celebrating, for reasons still not fully known, McNealy's boyfriend attacked three people with at least two guns. 

McNealy was tragically killed, as was one of the gunman's fellow airmen, Tristian Kemp. Dierker was the only one who survived the shooting, as the gunman took his own life. However, she was wounded badly.  

Johnson credited much of her daughter's survival to the officers, who rushed to the scene and helped carry her away to safety as medical professionals were unable to respond directly to the scene in fear of a potential active shooter.  

"Having that history and compassion for the Fort Collins police officers who saved Megan's life is definitely something that spurred this project," Johnson said.  

Johnson, who comes from a family deeply rooted in law enforcement, said she wanted to set out with her classmates to find out why law enforcement was having difficulty retaining and recruiting officers.

"The reality is we are all concerned about policing as it stands today, and the recruitment and retention is declining so much I worry in 20 years will we have officers to respond to calls?" Johnson said.  

The students surveyed more than 100 officers from several agencies around the state. Officers responded anonymously, and many suggested they planned on leaving the profession in the next year.  

"And 68% of those that were considering leaving were considering leaving because of perceived public perception," Johnson said.  

Johnson said many officers were considering leaving the profession solely because of the negative sentiments that can be shared by the general public and sometimes highlighted in the media.  

Johnson's team found that the perception and appreciation from the public can be improved through tactics like increasing transparency. 

Many officers who responded still shared their passion for the work that they do each day. Johnson said she hoped to take what she learned from her research and use it to help agencies improve moral.  

She also said most officers said they would feel more comfortable and secure in their profession if their upper leadership showed public support for their officers.

Johnson said she wanted to take the tragedy she experienced to help improve policing.  

"We are very grateful that officers from Fort Collins were able to respond in a very timely fashion. Had that not been the case perhaps her outcome would've been different," Johnson said.