A Walnut Ridge police officer fatally shot a man Wednesday morning after the man shot his ex-wife and then pointed his weapon at the officer, Police Chief Richey Thatcher said.
Authorities did not name the man and woman because the investigation is ongoing, Thatcher said. He also did not name the officer involved, but said he was placed on paid administrative leave, as is customary in officer-involved shootings.
Two Walnut Ridge officers who shot at the man were not injured, the chief said.
Thatcher said a Lawrence County sheriff’s office dispatcher received a 911 call at 2 a.m. Wednesday from a woman driving on Arkansas 34 toward Walnut Ridge who said her ex-husband was following her and trying to run her off the road. She said he also shot at her with a handgun, Thatcher said.
Walnut Ridge officers spotted the man on the northeastern edge of the Lawrence County town after he rammed his ex-wife’s vehicle, causing her to stop.
“He got out of the car, walked toward her car and shot the woman,” Thatcher said. “He turned back around and shot himself in the side. Then he raised his weapon at the officers.”
Police fired at him, killing him, the chief said.
Lawrence County Coroner Robert Walden pronounced the man dead at the scene.
The woman was transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Walnut Ridge, then flown by medical helicopter to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis. She was listed in stable condition, Thatcher said.
Arkansas State Police officers are investigating the shooting, spokesman Bill Sadler said.
Officers will submit their findings to Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce, who will determine whether the deadly force officers used was consistent with state law, Sadler said.
The shooting occurred near the intersection of Arkansas 34 and U.S. 412, where nearly 11 years ago police officers shot and killed a man after he shot at officers during a high-speed pursuit.
On June 26, 2003, Troy Triplett, 33, led police on a 13-mile chase from Pocahontas to Walnut Ridge before crashing his car at an overpass at the intersection.
Police said then that Triplett sat in his wrecked car and calmly lit a cigarette before shooting at police. Officers returned fire, striking Triplett in the chest and killing him.
Thatcher said he remembered that shooting, which took place when he was just completing his law certification training.
“We were talking about that today,” Thatcher said. “The two happened in the same spot.”
Counselors were available Wednesday to talk to the officers involved in the shooting, he said.
“It was bad,” Thatcher said. “It could have gone the other way real quick.”
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 04/24/2014