Off-duty officer killed while helping injured deer

NORTHAMPTON, N.Y. — An off-duty local officer was struck and killed by a car Monday while assisting in an accident between a car and deer shortly before 11 p.m.

Robert J. Johnson, 60, of Mayfield, New York, was a pedestrian on the side of the road and was trying to help a deer reportedly still alive when a car hit Johnson, according to a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office police report.

Sheriff Richard Giardino told the Leader-Herald newspaper that Johnson had his service revolver out and was walking north on Route 30 to shoot the animal when he was struck by the front end of an SUV in the northbound lane fog line.

Johnson had worked as a police officer for the small village of Northville for the last 12 years, having previously retired as a Gloversville police officer as well as a Fulton County sheriff's deputy, Northville Village Mayor John Spaeth said Tuesday.

"I think the circumstances under which he died tells a lot about who he was — the fact that he was off-duty and stopped to help, that was the type of person he was," Spaeth said. "He was a valued member of our community and a valued member of our law enforcement. He was greatly respected by the community."

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