A Little Rock police officer shot a man while serving a search warrant at the man's home Thursday morning.
Tactical officers and Pulaski County sheriff's deputies reportedly served a narcotics search warrant about 6:30 a.m. at 3220 King Road, a residence off Arkansas 365 just north of Sweet Home. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Carl Minden said the officers were searching a metal utility building on the 5-acre property when Lloyd Lanard St. Clair, 59, confronted officers with a gun.
An officer shot St. Clair after St. Clair refused to drop the weapon, according to Minden.
"He had a weapon pointed at the officers," Minden said. "They gave their commands, you know, 'Police, drop the weapon.' He didn't respond to those commands and was shot by one of the SWAT officers."
St. Clair was reportedly shot in the shoulder and hip. He was taken to UAMS Medical Center for treatment. The sheriff's office said his injuries were not life-threatening.
Police spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan said St. Clair faces a charge of aggravated assault, and that additional charges are likely.
McClanahan said the officer who shot St. Clair had been placed on paid administrative leave, in accordance with department policy. The department had not released the officer's identity Thursday. McClanahan described the officer as "very experienced."
Both agencies are investigating the shooting. The residence has a Little Rock address, but it's on a county road in a rural area patrolled by the sheriff's office.
McClanahan said the Police Department will investigate whether the officer's use of deadly force was justified.
"The county is doing the criminal part," he said. "We are still getting involved from an internal perspective."
Police were reportedly searching for methamphetamine and Ecstasy on the property, but McClanahan said he did not have information on what officers found Thursday.
Property records show the residence is owned by Roy St. Clair. His relationship with Lloyd St. Clair was unclear.
Lloyd St. Clair has no previous criminal history, aside from a misdemeanor public- intoxication conviction in 1981, according to court records. He remained hospitalized late Thursday.
The shooting Thursday was the third this year involving a Little Rock police officer. But it was the first in which an officer was on duty.
In March, rookie officer Lora Montano, 24, shot an intruder at her home in Conway. Herschel Lamoyne Brigance, 25, survived his injuries and was charged with residential burglary in the encounter.
In January, officer Shawn Bakr, 39, exchanged gunfire with three armed robbers while he was working off-duty as a security guard at a Red Lobster restaurant. He shot one of the suspected robbers, Joshua Lamont Williams, 17, in the buttocks. Williams survived and was charged with criminal attempted capital murder, in addition to numerous other felonies.
Bakr, a four-year veteran of the department, was shot in the shoulder during the gunfight. He was treated at a hospital and released the same night.
Both officers were cleared of any wrongdoing in the shootings.
An investigation into Thursday's shooting is ongoing.
Metro on 09/02/2016