A Jefferson County sheriff's office investigator is on paid administrative leave after he was purportedly involved in a shooting in Pine Bluff.
The investigator, whose name has not been released, is a member of a special investigations unit with the office, according to sheriff's office spokesman Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr.
According to a news release, Pine Bluff Police Department officers were dispatched to the scene of a shooting near Rhinehart Road and West Pullen Street at 3:26 a.m. Saturday. Upon arrival, they found Dedric Jones, 36, with a gunshot wound to the chest that he had purportedly suffered after being shot by the unnamed investigator. The investigator was not injured.
Jones was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, where he was in stable condition Saturday evening.
Woods said it was unclear what the circumstances of the shooting were and why the investigator had been at that location. He said he was unsure if the sheriff's office employee had been investigating a case or whether he was on duty at the time.
"It's kind of premature right now to draw any conclusions," he said. "We don't know what brought the officer to the scene. ... He was assigned to a special unit, so the hours are not normal hours."
Woods said the 911 call about the shooting was placed by a civilian at the scene, not the officer involved.
Two investigations are underway following the situation: one into the shooting itself and an internal investigation regarding the officer.
The sheriff's office employee will remain on paid administrative leave until the investigations are complete.
Metro on 07/06/2014