Police officer on leave after PB shooting

PINE BLUFF - One officer is on paid administrative leave while the Pine Bluff Police Department investigates a weekend shooting that left a 107-year-old Pine Bluff man dead, officials said Monday.

The department continues to investigate the death of Monroe Isadore, who, armed with a pistol, locked himself inside the bedroom of a 16th Avenue residence Saturday after an altercation with a friend and family member, said Pine Bluff Police Department detective David DeFoor.

The deadly standoff, which began just after 4:25 p.m. and lasted about three hours, ended when SWAT team members stormed the bedroom and Isadore fired at them, according to a police report.

DeFoor said Police Department policy requires placing an officer involved in a shooting on paid administrative leave. His name is not being released, per department policy, DeFoor said. He would not say if the officer was the only one who fired the shots that killed Isadore.

The results of the Police Department’s internal investigation will be turned over to Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter, who will decide whether to file charges in the case. Hunter added that his office’s involvement is routine in such cases.

DeFoor said he was unsure when the file would be turned over to the prosecutor.

“It will probably be sometime this week,” he said.

Just before his office closed Monday, Hunter said he had not received the file.

The Police Department did not have information available Monday about when the last officer-involved shooting took place.

Isadore’s death has made headlines worldwide, primarily because of his age. CNN, NPR, The Associated Press and British newspapers such as the Daily Mail were among news organizations that produced stories about the shooting.

The events leading up to Isadore’s death began when Pine Bluff police responded to a disturbance call at 1411 W. 16th Ave., according to a police report.

Laurie Barlow said she had come to the house to take Isadore to his new home, and that “he was excited all day about moving into the home,” the report said.

But shortly after she arrived, Isadore became agitated and “locked himself in his room and refused to come out,” the report said.

Barlow then told officers that Isadore’s granddaughter persuaded him to open the bedroom door, but he “raised his arm and pointed a gun at her and stated ‘you better stop breaking into my house,’” according to the report.

Officers at the scene “had the two victims leave the residence for their safety and approached the door to the bedroom. … When officers announced themselves, Isadore shot through the door at them,” a Police Department news release said.

The Police Department said no officer was shot or injured.

Officers quickly backed away from the house, alerting the department’s SWAT team, which arrived a short time later and began negotiations with Isadore, the Police Department said.

A camera was then inserted into the room with Isadore, confirming that he was armed, police said.

SWAT team members then “inserted gas into the room after it was evident negotiations were unsuccessful, in hopes Isadore would surrender peacefully,” the Police Department said.

“When the gas was inserted into the room, Isadore fired rounds at SWAT officers” who had “inserted the gas from outside a bedroom window,” the Police Department said in its news release.

SWAT team members then entered the residence and broke down the bedroom door.

“Isadore then began to fire on the entry team, and the entry team engaged Isadore, killing him,” police said.

The police report - which only describes the initial disturbance call, not the SWAT team’s involvement - states that Hunter, Interim Police Chief Jeff Hubanks and Assistant Police Chief Ivan Whitfield were among the officials who showed up Saturday night.

Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said Monday that she and Hubanks attended a briefing Sunday regarding the standoff, and that she viewed a videotape recorded by officers at the scene.

She declined to comment on what she saw on the tape, citing the ongoing investigation.

“This is just so, so sad,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s sad in every way that you can describe. I can’t imagine the pain his family is going through at this point.”

Hollingsworth said her office reached out to two of Isadore’s children “just on a personal note. We want to meet with them to extend a heartfelt sympathy.”

Leroy Jones, who lives about four blocks from the white wood-frame house with blue trim where Isadore died, said he has felt “sick to my stomach since I heard about this. I can’t say one way or another if the police were right, but to go out in a hail of gunfire when you are 107 is just sad.”

Alderman Thelma Walker, one of two aldermen who represent Ward 1, where Isadore was killed, said Monday afternoon that she has received numerous calls from concerned constituents.

“People are very, very concerned about this,” said Walker, who owns and operates Pine Bluff Adult Day Care. “Elderly people are concerned about the relationship they will have with police in the future.”

Walker said she was “shocked when I heard the news. I am still having problems with it, because a person lives 107 years, God must have them here for something. For them to die like that is just hard. It’s unacceptable.”