Injured Arlington police officer grateful for community support

Arlington Police officer Eddie Johnston, shot in the line of duty April 25, said Thursday that fellow police officers, community members and even strangers have been a part of his recovery.

Johnston was shot once in the hip while helping Saginaw police serve a felony murder warrant in the 400 block of Summit Avenue, police said. He was released from the hospital the next day, and has been out of work recovering at home since his injury.

At a news conference called to thank the community, Johnston and his wife, Kristi, remembered the day he was shot.

“I immediately knew I was hit,” he said. “It was one of those experiences where you imagine one thing, and it’s a totally different feel.”

The fight or flight instinct kicked in immediately, he said. He stumbled, returned fire, then fell. He was pulled to safety by fellow officers. His next thought was of his wife, he said.

“It was terrifying,” she said. “Every police wife’s worst nightmare. The reality is that you know what’s involved with having our husbands and wives out there, but until it happens to you, you don’t realize the magnitude.”

Area police departments, churches, schools and strangers have sent cards and letters of support to the family.

“The calls, the texts, the visits, everything has been phenomenal,” Kristi Johnston said.

Friends arranged play dates with the couple’s 4- and 6-year-old children, she said, and countless meals were sent to the family.

“Thank you for the outpouring of messages and get-wells,” Eddie Johnston said. “You don’t understand how much that helps until you’re on the receiving end of it.”

An 11-year Army medic veteran, Eddie Johnston said the shooting hasn’t changed his commitment to the job.

“I never had one thought in my head that I wouldn’t go back to doing this, not even once,” he said. “I love it here. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

He is expected to return to work June 2, Arlington police spokesman Lt. Chris Cook said.

The man accused of shooting him, Joel Conner McCommon, 23, faces a count of attempted capital murder related to that shooting and another count of murder related to a case originating in Saginaw. He was released from the Tarrant County Jail Monday on bail totaling $350,000 on both charges.

The original felony murder warrant was issued during the investigation of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Saginaw High School student Jordan Miles on April 23. Two witnesses told police they saw McCommon fighting with Miles just before the shooting, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

When officers from Saginaw and Arlington tried to contact McCommon April 25, he is accused of opening the door and firing, injuring Johnston. Police returned fire, hitting McCommon, according to a news release.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Injured Arlington police officer grateful for community support."