LITTLE ROCK — A man died after being knocked to the ground during a confrontation with his neighbor in Clinton, authorities said.
Robert Cole, 53, was pronounced dead Thursday morning at a Little Rock hospital after being airlifted there after the Wednesday afternoon incident.
Cole's injuries initially did not appear serious and he gave a statement to police before being transported to the hospital, where his condition deteriorated and doctors discovered he had a serious brain bleed, police said.
The confrontation between Cole and neighbor Robert Delay occurred shortly before 6 p.m. outside Cole's home on Biroja Street in Clinton.
Cole told authorities Delay's daughter was in his yard "barking at his dogs and getting them stirred up" when he asked her to leave, according to a report from the Clinton Police Department.
Cole told police Delay then came onto his property and pushed him to the ground. He reportedly hit his head on the brick-and-concrete driveway.
According to the report, Delay gave a similar account, saying the physical confrontation occurred after "words were exchanged."
"Delay stated that 'I snapped' and pushed Cole to the ground," police wrote in the report.
Reached by phone Thursday afternoon, Delay said he did not intend to kill Cole. But he said he couldn't answer additional questions before consulting with his attorney.
"I really want to and everything tells me to because I'm not trying to hide anything," Delay said. "What happened was just a real bad deal on both sides. But I'm not supposed to talk to anybody right now."
It wasn't immediately clear if Delay will face charges and, if so, what they will be.
Clinton Police Department Chief Tony Parish said his department was investigating the incident as a misdemeanor before Cole died. When he died, it became a felony case and the investigation was shifted to the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office and Arkansas State Police.
A message left with the sheriff's office wasn't immediately returned.