West Memphis patrol officers will be getting semiautomatic rifles, a decision reached just over a month after two officers were fatally shot during a traffic stop.
The West Memphis City Council has agreed to buy AR-15 rifles for officers to use while on patrol. Mayor William Johnson said Tuesday the department already has a number of those rifles that are used by SWAT.
Officers Bill Evans and Brandon Paudert were gunned down May 20 after pulling over a minivan with Jerry Kane and his 16-year-old son, Joe, inside. The Kanes were killed and two other officers injured in a shootout at the parking lot of a nearby Wal-Mart store.
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State police say a prosecutor is still reviewing the investigative report, which has not been released.