Callaway County deputy back on patrol after October shooting

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

More than 200 days after a suspect shot at two Callaway County deputies in October, both are now back on patrol.

The sheriff's office said in a social media post on Tuesday that Deputy Gardner Pottorff returned to patrol on Monday night, 204 days after he and Cpl. Justin Bax were shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in October.

The post states Potorff will be partnered with Bax on patrol while transiting back to full duty.

Both men were hospitalized after the shooting. Bax was released two days after the shooting, while Pottorff was released on Oct. 29.

The sheriff's office shared in March that Pottorff had returned to the office after months of rehabilitation.

A Texas man, Jonathan Beason, was killed during an exchange of gunfire, according to an Oct. 14 press release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Beason had multiple felony warrants, the sheriff’s office said.

Both men were cleared of any wrongdoing in Beason's death in an investigation by the highway patrol and review from a special prosecutor.