Massacre Fort Hood hero police officers losing jobs over budget cuts

Officers who responded to 2009 Fort Hood shootings, hailed as heroes, losing their jobs

By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

FORT HOOD — The two Fort Hood police officers celebrated as heroes for responding first to the 2009 shooting massacre at this Army post were told recently they would lose their jobs as part of broader military budget cuts.

Kimberly Munley and Mark Todd, who is credited with taking down suspected shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan, have both left Fort Hood in advance of the termination of their jobs. Fort Hood officials said other civilian police officers on the post who were hired on a year-to-year basis will likewise not see their employment renewed.

"We all hold Fort Hood in our hearts and never thought we would be facing cutbacks," said Munley, who has taken an unpaid leave of absence.

Fort Hood officials said the civilian police officers will be replaced with military police soldiers, or MPs, in a sign that the wartime posture of the Army's busiest deployment hub is slowing down. Officials said Fort Hood increased hiring of civilian officers in 2003 as military police soldiers were increasingly deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, a trend that is reversing.
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Officers who responded to 2009 Fort Hood shootings