Authorities sent the body of a Manila man fatally shot by a police officer to the state Crime Laboratory on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the death.
Timothy Johnson, 41, was killed shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday when a Manila police officer responded to a disturbance at 601 W. Arkansas 18 in the Mississippi County town, said Capt. James Skinner of the Manila Police Department.
Skinner said Johnson approached the officer while holding a knife and did not drop it after being ordered to do so.
On Wednesday, authorities did not name the officer involved in the shooting. He was not injured, Skinner said.
Manila Police Chief Jackie Hill was off duty Wednesday afternoon and did not return a telephone message.
In addition to Skinner and Hill, the department has five other officers.
The Arkansas State Police is investigating the shooting, agency spokesman Bill Sadler said.
"Initial reports indicate Johnson was holding a knife and advanced toward the officer after reportedly being told to drop the knife," Sadler said in a news release.
Once the investigation is completed, state police agents will submit their findings to Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington to determine whether the shooting was justified or whether it warrants criminal charges.
The shooting stunned those in the western Mississippi County town of 3,055.
Two 19-year-old men were killed when their car collided with another vehicle on Arkansas 18 on July 23, and a Manila man drowned in Greers Ferry Lake on July 5.
Karen Stallings said she suffered her own tragedy when her house burned down in May after it was struck by lightning.
"You don't want to say 'What's next,' but you have to," she said. "We've had quite a bit of bad things happen here lately."
Stallings, who works at Harold's Discount Furniture on West Lake Street in Manila, said she could see from her business the house where Johnson was killed. The business is about 50 yards from the site of the shooting on Arkansas 18.
She said paramedics and police were called to 601 W. Arkansas 18 earlier Tuesday, but she didn't know why. The furniture store was closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and Stallings was not there when the shooting occurred.
Johnson lived in a small trailer behind the house at that address, Stallings said.
Stallings said she knew the officer involved in the shooting but would not reveal the officer's name.
"This is a small town," she said. "We are on a first-name basis with all of the police and EMTs.
"He is a good officer. He is the most kindhearted officer there is. I know him both professionally with our business and personally. He is very professional on the job.
"This has shaken him."
State Desk on 07/30/2015