Miami police chief announces officer’s ‘sudden passing’

MIAMI – Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina confirmed Friday morning that Officer Aubrey Johnson Jr., who joined the police department in 2015, had passed away.

“Your brothers and sisters in blue will truly miss you!” Colina tweeted.

According to the Miami Herald, Johnson, 28, died Thursday night after taking some kind of medication.

The Herald reported that Johnson called his mother and told her he wasn’t feeling well.

“He made a phone call to his family and by the time they arrived, he was unconscious,” Tommy Reyes, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, told Local 10 News.

Reyes confirmed that Johnson injured his foot two weeks while running after a narcotics suspect. He said Johnson tore a ligament and was undergoing physical therapy.

He was taken to Jackson North Medical Center Thursday night, where he died.

Reyes said Johnson’s death was not related to COVID-19.

“It appears to be as a result of his injury that he passed away,” Reyes said.

Johnson had been off work for a couple weeks to recover from his line of duty injury.

Sky 10 was above a procession of police units on Interstate 95 Friday morning as Johnson’s body was taken from the hospital to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Officers saluted as the ambulance passed. An American flag was draped over the young officer’s body.

FIU police Capt. Delrish Moss took to Twitter to honor Johnson, who he said was also a coach and mentor to children in the Miami Police Athletic League.

Reyes said Johnson coached a children’s football team and was the son of a retired high ranking Miami Police Department staff member and a retired police dispatcher. He said those who knew Johnson loved him tremendously.

“His classmates from the Academy and the people he currently works with, they are torn to pieces because they say he was such an amazing person,” Reyes said.