7:50 p.m. Update
Little Rock police have identified the man fatally shot after being pulled over while driving a vehicle officers suspected had been stolen.
Deon Williams, 26, was pronounced dead at 12:17 p.m. at UAMS Medical Center, the Little Rock Police Department said in a Monday evening statement.
According to Little Rock police, two officers observed Williams at 11:40 a.m. in the area of 12th and Jonesboro streets when the black Chevrolet Suburban he was driving matched a description of a vehicle that had been reported stolen. Officers also observed the vehicle had an expired license plate, police say. They allowed the Suburban to pass them, and as they were about to pull it over, the vehicle stopped on the side of the street. Williams then got out of the vehicle and began walking away from it, at which point police said they observed a bulge in Williams' waistband.
The officers then attempted to make contact with Williams, eventually stopping and asking him to walk back to their vehicle during the incident, at which point he fled on foot.
After a brief pursuit, an altercation with one of the officers ensued in the back yard of a house in the 1100 block of Adams Street, police say. As Williams turned the corner into the yard, police said the officer observed a gun fall out of the waistband of Williams' pants. The officer, who was not identified in the statement, immediately dropped his taser -- which he was carrying at the time -- and drew his service weapon, according to the statement. Williams picked up the gun, at which point police say the officer feared for his life, and fired upon Williams three times, striking him.
The weapon was recovered at the scene.
Full Story
One man was fatally shot Monday afternoon after a physical altercation with a Little Rock police officer.
The fight and shooting occurred near the corner of 1110 Adams St. about 11:30 a.m. after a traffic stop on a black Chevrolet Suburban that was believed to be stolen.
The man driving the vehicle fled on foot shortly after he was stopped by the officer near 12th and Jefferson streets.
After a short pursuit down an alley, police say, a physical altercation ensued and the suspect was shot at least once by the officer. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities described him as a black male in his 30s.
The officer involved was not injured.
Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said a weapon was recovered at the scene that did not belong to the officer.
Little Rock Police Department Chief Stuart Thomas said that the suspect produced a weapon in the struggle, prompting the officer to open fire. He added that investigators have also recovered narcotics, money and a weapon from the scene that they believe the individual was carrying.
As for the protest, he called some of the information relayed around those on the scene "misinformed."
Thomas added that he was informed three-to-four gunshots were fired during the altercation.
"There was an indication that there was a juvenile involved, that is not the case," he said. "And it just kind of built up from there. And there are a lot of other issues at play, both locally and nationally. You can see from some of the signs, some individuals had some opinions about other matters and somehow or another, they associated these together."
Charles Sims, 38, said he saw the chase as he was leaving the Family Dollar store on 12th Street. Sims said he heard "eight or nine gunshots" after the officer chased the suspect into the alley on Adams Street. A second officer followed him on foot shortly after gunshots were heard, Sims said.
By 2 p.m., authorities had blocked the two westbound lanes of 12th Street as more than 200 onlookers gathered near the scene. Westbound traffic is being detoured to Washington Street.
Eastbound traffic on 12th Street is backed up at least five blocks past Jefferson Street and is being rerouted on Adams Street, in the opposite direction of the crime scene.
Arkansas State Police has a helicopter circling the area. An ambulance is also on the scene, but the reason was not immediately known.
Crowds gather nearby
By 12:15 p.m., a large crowd had gathered in the parking lot of the Family Dollar near the main crime scene. Officers forced the crowd to disperse, but another crowd of nearly 200 people formed across the street at a Hess gas station around 1 p.m. Some members of the crowd shouted insults at the officers who were stationed in the street to control the scene. Others in the crowd were documenting the scene with cameras and camera phones.
No arrests were made as of 1:45 p.m., but additional officers were requested to control the crowd.
Several people in the crowd referenced the Trayvon Martin incident, in which the 17-year-old boy was shot following an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman last year. Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Saturday.
3 p.m. Update:
Officers have formed a barricade in front of the Hess gas station near the scene of the shooting in an attempt to control a large crowd of onlookers and protesters.
The crowd has grown to around 250 people, some of whom are holding signs and protesting various incidents involving the Little Rock Police Department such as the 2012 shooting death of 15-year-old Bobby Moore.
One member of the crowd was taken into police custody on an unknown charge around 2:30 p.m.
Traffic continues to be rerouted around the scene.
3:15 p.m. Update:
At least 60 Little Rock Police Department vehicles have arrived on scene, and officers are giving orders for individuals to disperse.
Authorities are telling protestors to leave the area or be arrested.
3:30 p.m. Update:
Little Rock police officials have instructed officers to begin leaving the scene of the shooting.
Police vehicles have lined the block from Washington to Adams streets to control the crowd and investigate the scene.
Around 150 protesters are still gathered at a nearby Hess gas station. Several individuals who are not police officers have been attempting to calm and disperse the crowd.
4 p.m. Update
Nearly 75 onlookers and three police vehicles remain near the scene of the shooting.
Police and most of the crowd that gathered following a fatal shooting of a man by a Little Rock police officer Monday afternoon have dispersed, and traffic lanes have been reopened in the area.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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