Lynchburg police have released the name of the officer who they say accidentally struck and injured a man who’d fallen off his horse last Saturday night. Patrol Officer Michael Johnson is a 6-year veteran of the Lynchburg Police Department. Police say 57-year-old Steve Rucker, Jr. of Amherst rode his horse through downtown Lynchburg with police following, and was hit by a police car when he fell off. State police are investigating and Officer Johnson is on restricted duty.
Here is the news release from Lynchburg Police:
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Officer Michael Johnson, assigned to Patrol Operations, is the officer who operated the vehicle that accidently struck the individual who fell off his horse. Officer Johnson is a 6-year veteran of the Lynchburg Police Department (LPD).
Per LPD policy, Officer Johnson remains on restricted duty.
This is an ongoing investigation. Any additional information will be released as an update to this news release.