LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas State Police trooper and a Hope man were reported to be in stable condition Saturday after being wounded in a roadside shootout Friday night.
According to state police spokesman Bill Sadler, Cpl. Pete Penney stopped a vehicle about 9 p.m. on U.S. 278 between Ozan and Nashville in northern Hempstead County.
Ten minutes later, he notified dispatchers at the Troop G headquarters in Hope that shots had been fired and he needed assistance.
A Nashville police officer was the first to arrive, according to Sadler, and found Penney, 37, and Herman Lee White, 66.
Both men had been wounded.
White was taken to a hospital in Texarkana, and Penney was transported to Hot Springs for treatment.
Sadler declined to comment on the types of wounds or on the weapons used.
State police detectives have started a criminal, as well as an internal, investigation into the shooting.
Sadler said Saturday that no formal charges have been filed, but that White will be jailed once he is released from the hospital.
Penney is an eight-year veteran of the state police.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 03/25/2012