Friday
6:40 a.m. UPDATE: ACLU requests independent review of police shooting
The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has called for an independent review of the officer-involved shooting that left one man dead in Little Rock early Tuesday morning.
In a Facebook post Thursday, the individual rights advocacy group said it requested all video and audio records as well as the police report of the incident, saying “hopefully we can see and hear what happened.”
“With no Independent Review Board to investigate claims of police misconduct in Arkansas, and errors in past internal investigations, it is hard to have faith in those who put their lives on the line to protect and serve us — especially hard for African Americans,” the group wrote.
“We need to trust the police, not fear them,” the post added.
Another advocacy group, Black Lives Matter of Little Rock, had also called for an outside agency to investigate the fatal shooting that killed Roy Lee Richards, asking those who support them to email Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner.
Little Rock police’s homicide unit is investigating the shooting, and the department has released some details of the incident, like a photo of the weapon Richards was carrying as well as 911 calls made to police that night.
Buckner has said deciding whether to release information about a case puts police in a difficult position, balancing transparency and the importance of safeguarding the investigation, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley told the newspaper it is his job to protect the integrity of the investigation by not releasing important details that could taint witness accounts.
In today's Democrat-Gazette: Little Rock police silent on weapon wielded by man fatally shot by officer; photo released
The weapon wielded by a man fatally shot Tuesday morning by Little Rock police likely was an air pellet gun or a BB gun, according to employees of two central Arkansas gun stores who viewed a photo of the weapon Thursday.
Police have declined to release information about the gun, although they did release a picture Wednesday. Police Chief Kenton Buckner and Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley defended that decision Thursday, stating a need to protect the integrity of the investigation.
According to police, Roy Richards, 46, was chasing a man identified as his uncle while "pointing a long gun at his back" early Tuesday. It was then that Little Rock officer Dennis Hutchins fired multiple shots, striking Richards, police said in a news release.
Thursday
3:30 p.m. UPDATE: Weapon wielded by man fatally shot by police likely pellet or BB gun, 2 say
The weapon wielded by the man who was fatally shot by Little Rock police Tuesday morning was likely an air pellet gun or a BB gun, according to employees of two central Arkansas gun stores who viewed a photo of it Thursday.
Both employees — one who works at a store in Little Rock and the other at a business in North Little Rock — looked at a photograph of the weapon police sent out after taking custody of it. Each man asked not to be identified or to have his store named.
One of the gun store employees said if he was an officer, he would not have been able to tell what type of gun Richards was holding during the shooting, which occurred around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday.
According to police, Roy Richards, 46, was chasing a man previously identified as his uncle while “pointing a long gun at his back.” It was then that Little Rock officer Dennis Hutchins fired multiple shots, striking Richards, police said in a news release.
Hutchins said he fired because he believed Richards was going to shoot the other man in the back, police wrote in the release.
Richards was pronounced dead at the scene.
Little Rock Police described the weapon as a “long gun” in the report, and spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan previously said the department was advised by the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney’s office not to disclose the type of gun taken from the scene, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
McClanahan did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
In today's Democrat-Gazette: Little Rock names officer in fatal shooting, releases 911 calls
Little Rock police Wednesday identified the officer involved in the killing of a 46-year-old man early Tuesday morning and released 911 recordings that revealed new details on the lead-up to the shooting.
Officer Dennis Hutchins, who has been with the department since 2001, said he fired his gun because he believed the man, later identified as Roy Richards, 46, was going to shoot another man in the back, according to a department press release.
Officers responded to a disturbance at 514 E. Eighth St. at 12:37 a.m. Tuesday morning, where they found two men fighting in the front yard, according to the release.
Wednesday
6:10 p.m. UPDATE: Police release 911 calls from officer-involved shooting
In one of several 911 calls made early Tuesday from Little Rock’s East 8th Street, Roy Lee Richards’ uncle pleaded with police to not harm his nephew.
“Now don’t hurt him. I just want him out of my yard and away from my house,” Derrell Underwood said of Richards in a brief, 25-second call to authorities that was released Wednesday evening.
Underwood, his landlord and several residents in the area made calls that morning, each detailing their account of what they knew about the disturbance shortly after midnight at 514 E. 8th Street in the city’s downtown.
One of Underwood’s neighbors told a dispatcher that she had overheard Richards and Underwood “having a fight all night” at the house.
“There’s a man with a gun. He pulled it out. He’s gonna shoot my neighbor,” she said, explaining the situation outside.
“I don’t want anything to happen to him. He’s a nice guy. He’s been living there for a long time. Very quiet,” the neighbor added. “This is the first time we’ve ever seen anything like this.”
About four minutes into the conversation, the neighbor screamed as apparent gunshots could be heard in the background.
“Someone just got shot. I think they’re dead,” she said, sobbing, a short time later.
Richards was ultimately shot and killed by Little Rock police officer Dennis Hutchins early Tuesday when Hutchins believed Richards might shoot Underwood with a “long gun.”
Read Thursday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
4:50 p.m. UPDATE: Little Rock police identify officer who fatally shot man
Little Rock police say a 15-year veteran of the department was responsible for the fatal shooting of a 46-year-old man while he and another officer responded to a disturbance call early Tuesday.
In a news release, the agency identified the officer as Dennis Hutchins, who has been with the police department since February 2001.
Hutchins and a second officer, whose identity has not been released, responded around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday to 514 E. 8th St., where they found two men fighting in the front yard of a home, according to police.
When the officers approached, authorities said, the men stopped fighting, and Roy Lee Richards walked to a dark-colored SUV out of their view.
“Once Richards came back into officers’ view, they observed Richards begin to chase the other black male while pointing a long gun at his back,” the release states.
Hutchins then fired multiple shots at Richards, believing that he would shoot the black man, previously identified as Richards’ uncle, in the back, police said.
Richards was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hutchins and the second officer remain on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
8:15 a.m. UPDATE: Black Lives Matter group requests independent investigation into police shooting
Black Lives Matter of Little Rock called on black people and “all those who stand in solidarity against police brutality” to email Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner and request an independent investigation into Monday’s fatal officer-involved shooting, according to a Facebook post.
“Considering the history that the LRPD has in justifying unjustifiable police involved shootings, such as that of Eugene Ellison, we are calling for an independent investigation,” the group wrote, including Buckner’s email address in the post.
The department’s homicide unit is currently investigating the incident, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
Eugene Ellison was a 67-year-old man fatally shot by an off-duty Little Rock police officer, Donna Lesher, in 2010. Earlier this month, the Democrat-Gazette reported problems with the investigation. The story cited sworn depositions from Assistant Chief Wayne Bewley and former Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas who said the department likely failed to adequately scrutinize Lesher’s account of the shooting and Ellison’s autopsy.
4 a.m. UPDATE: Little Rock officers kill man, say he held 'long gun'
Little Rock police continue to investigate the fatal shooting of a 46-year-old man by an officer who was responding to a disturbance call early Tuesday morning.
Roy Lee Richards of Little Rock was armed with a "long gun" when officers responded to a call at 512 E. Eighth St. at 12:37 a.m., according to a police report. One of the officers reportedly "engaged" and then shot Richards, who died at the scene, the report said.
"Our [step] now is to have due process take place, to make sure that a thorough investigation is being conducted, to make sure we are satisfied with the information that we have," Police Chief Kenton Buckner said at the scene early Tuesday.
Tuesday
3:27 p.m. UPDATE: Man shot, killed by police identified
The Little Rock Police Department on Tuesday afternoon identified the victim of an officer-involved shooting earlier in the day as 46-year-old Roy Lee Richards.
When officers responded to multiple calls of a disturbance around 12:40 a.m. in the 500 block of East 8th Street, they found Richards pointing a long gun at his uncle Derrell Underwood, 53, of Little Rock, according to a report.
One of the officers, whose name was not released, then “engaged” Richards, also of Little Rock, and fired several shots, police said.
Richards was pronounced dead at the scene, the report notes. Underwood was not injured.
Richards’ uncle told police that his nephew had driven over to the downtown street and began a fight that turned physical, at one point going to his vehicle and returning with a rifle, authorities said.
Police said more information was set to be released Tuesday afternoon.
Check back with Arkansas Online for updates and read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
9:20 a.m. UPDATE: Nearby resident heard 'a bunch of gunshots'
Song Fox lives in an apartment in the 500 block of East 8th St. and said she called police when she heard gunshots shortly after waking up around 12:40 a.m.
Fox said she was awoken by a car alarm blaring, then heard a man outside screaming at another person who was responding in a quieter voice.
“One guy was just going off, it sounded like he was maybe hitting the car,” Fox said.
Then, Fox said she heard “a bunch of gunshots” followed by a man saying, “Please stop shooting.”
Fox said she thinks that man was the same person who was yelling moments before, though she did not see the incident take place. It was then that she called the police and reported the shots fired.
7:30 a.m. UPDATE: Police remain on scene hours after shooting
Eighth Street remained blocked by crime scene tape and officers were still on scene around 7:30 a.m., nearly seven hours after officers fatally shot a man after being called to a disturbance in the area.
A Little Rock Police Department spokesman directed questions about the shooting to another spokesman who did not immediately respond to messages.
3:57 a.m. UPDATE: Police fatally shoot man in downtown Little Rock
Police shot and killed a man early Tuesday morning in downtown Little Rock after receiving a report of a disturbance, the department’s chief said.
Officers were dispatched to the 500 block of East 8th St. at around 12:40 a.m, said Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner at the shooting scene Tuesday morning.
While in route, the call was updated to a disturbance with a man with a long gun, he said.
Buckner said it appears that arriving officers got out of their vehicles, walked up and engaged the subject, a black man, on the 500 block of East 8th Street.
The chief said there were shots fired and the man died at the scene. He said investigators do not know at this point how many shots were fired by police.
The subject’s family had not been notified as of early Tuesday morning, and the investigation is in its early stages, he said.
— Ryan Tarinelli
Officer-involved shooting on E. 8th Street. Spokesman says a suspect has been killed. Chief Buckner is at the scene. pic.twitter.com/wzykyYtwNz
— Ryan Tarinelli (@ryantarinelli) October 25, 2016
Large crime scene on E. 8th Street. pic.twitter.com/j57dICULsf
— Ryan Tarinelli (@ryantarinelli) October 25, 2016
Chief Buckner says the victim is a black male and is dead at the scene. pic.twitter.com/flYfCNWS62
— Ryan Tarinelli (@ryantarinelli) October 25, 2016