HOT SPRINGS — Investigators said Thursday that an off-duty Diamondhead police officer was shot in the shoulder Wednesday evening during an exchange of gunfire that followed an attempted traffic stop in the gated community near Hot Springs.
Part-time officer Fred Ensminger, 46, was in stable condition Thursday at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center, where he was taken after the shooting. He will likely be released this week, Garland County sheriff’s investigator Mike Wright said.
The Diamondhead resident suspected in the shooting, Jerry Chambliss, 62, was questioned along with his wife, Cindy Nelson, deputy Judy Daniell said.
Chambliss, a real estate broker and former co-owner of Herr-Chambliss Fine Arts Gallery on Central Avenue, ran unsuccessfully for Garland County tax assessor in 2004.
Daniell said no charges have been filed in the shooting, noting: “Investigators are still piecing together the events from [Wednesday] night to try to figure out what happened.”
Evidence from the shooting, which occurred around 5:30 p.m. outside Chambliss’ residence in the 300 block ofCoolwood Drive in Diamondhead, has been sent to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock.
Daniell said Ensminger believed he observed a traffic violation on his way home and followed the vehicle when it did not stop for him. Ensminger had red-and-white lights mounted in the dash of his vehicle, similar to those used by volunteer firefighters, and was not in uniform.
Ensminger followed the vehicle, driven by Nelson, to the residence. In the meantime, Chambliss called Diamondhead police to report that his wife was being followed by someone, Daniell said.
When Nelson arrived home, there was a confrontation at the house with shots being fired by both Chambliss and Ensminger, Daniell said.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 07/23/2010