ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando police officer seen on surveillance video firing several shots into an Orlando parking garage has been fired, police said Friday.
Orlando Police Department officials said Officer David Johnston was terminated following an internal investigation ofviolations of department regulations during the parking garage incident.
Security video shows Johnston firing 23 shots from his assault rifle into a downtown parking garage in February 2014.
PDF: Johnston Termination Letter
Raw: Video shows officer shooting into parking garage
Slideshow: Officer fires at car in parking garage
The video shows Johnston shooting as domestic violence suspect Derrick Lattimore was approaching the garage's exit.
The video shows Johnston going to his car, getting his assault rifle and firing as he walked toward Lattimore's car. Johnston opened fire on the ground floor of the West Pine Street parking garage after two other officers had shot at Lattimore on the fifth floor.
None of the bullets hit Lattimore.
Johnston has been charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and discharging a firearm in public.
An internal affairs investigators wrote in a report, "You fired a total of 23 rounds from your AR-15 during a time where the suspect did not pose an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to you ... ."
The investigation said Johnston did not exhaust every other reasonable means of apprehension before using deadly force.
Johnston was supposed to be in court Friday but did not show up.
A judge denied his attorneys' request to dismiss the charges. Johnston is scheduled to go to trial May 11.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina would not comment on Johnston's firing, but the department's termination letter read, in part: "The SUSTAINED violations speaks to the character of an Orlando Police Officer. The conduct outlined in the investigation cannot be tolerated by an employee of the Orlando Police Department and undermines the employee's credibility as a law enforcement officer."
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