The US Army is reportedly looking into the circumstances surrounding Micah X Johnson’s military discharge from the Army Reserves. A female soldier has come forward since the shooting, stating that Micah Johnson sexually harassed her during their deployment in Afghanistan. As a result Johnson was sent home from the deployment with the recommendation of being discharged, according to Military Times. When the female soldier returned from theater, she even requested a protective order against him. Some question whether or not a honorable discharge was appropriate.
The lawyer that represented Micah Johnson in the sexual harassment case states that there was a clerical error in the favor of his client. CBS News reported:
Johnson’s lawyer said he had prepared documents for a more severe other-than-honorable exit almost two years ago.
Army lawyer Bradford Glendening was assigned to represent Johnson following an accusation of sexual harassment against him by a female soldier in his unit, Glendening said. Exactly what Johnson is accused of doing has not been made public.
Johnson deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, but was sent back to Texas with the recommendation that he be removed from the Army with an other-than-honorable discharge, said Glendening, who prepared the other-than-honorable discharge papers in September 2014.
However, Johnson did not actually leave the service until the following April, according to service records released by the Army that do not classify his discharge.
His attorney later learned that the discharge was honorable.
“I was shocked to see that,” he told The Associated Press by phone last week, less than 24 hours after the Dallas shooting. He said he never received final documentation on how Johnson’s case was resolved.
“Somebody really screwed up but to my client’s benefit,” he said.
Even if the military concludes that Johnson should have received a less-than-honorable discharge, nothing will change as a result since he is deceased. The only thing that could be gained from the investigation would be the opportunity to identify flaws in the process that allowed Johnson to fall through the cracks.
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