Lawman in killing outside Little Rock identified

Armed man shot; deputy on leave

The Pulaski County sheriff's office on Wednesday identified a deputy who fatally shot an armed man earlier this week.

Deputy Joe Oberle, 59, has been on paid administrative leave since Monday in the case. Oberle is a longtime central Arkansas lawman who had been involved in two previous shootings on the job.

In the latest shooting, the sheriff's office reported that Oberle confronted Leeland White, 32, about 6:20 a.m. outside a residence at 22400 Colonel Glenn Road in western Pulaski County. White, who had a history of mental illness, was reportedly armed with a 20-gauge shotgun and had been banging on residents' doors in the rural area.

Oberle tried to speak to White, but White refused to drop the gun, according to the sheriff's office. Oberle then shot White twice in the upper torso.

Sheriff's office spokesman Capt. Carl Minden said Oberle has cooperated with investigators and is scheduled to return to duty this weekend. Minden said the sheriff's office is looking into whether Oberle's use of deadly force was justified. Findings will be submitted to prosecutors to determine if criminal charges will be filed.

Court records show White had been involved in a child-custody dispute with his ex-wife and had been treated for paranoid-psychotic behavior earlier this year. A UAMS Medical Center psychiatrist filed a petition in April to commit White to a mental-health treatment facility. The doctor wrote that White believed people were "out to get him" and that drones were following him.

White's ex-wife stated in court filings that he was a "frequent methamphetamine user" who had threatened to kill her and himself.

Oberle has more than 29 years of experience in law enforcement. The sheriff's office hired him in January 2012 for his second stint at the agency. In 2005, he left after six weeks on the job and worked as a security guard at Arkansas Children's Hospital, according to Minden.

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Before then, the Little Rock Police Department employed Oberle for nearly 25 years. He retired from the department as a sergeant in 2003.

The shooting Monday was the third in Oberle's law enforcement career.

In February 1994, when he was a Little Rock police homicide detective, Oberle fatally shot Victor Irving Cole outside a home at 1412 S. Taylor St., just west of Fair Park Boulevard. Cole, 30, was armed with a handgun. Hours earlier, he'd reportedly bitten off another officer's fingertip, taken the officer's handgun and shot the officer's police dog.

The shooting gained attention after paramedics reported that officers hindered their efforts to save Cole's life. Officers were accused of blocking paramedics' path to Cole and refusing to take handcuffs off Cole as he bled to death at UAMS Medical Center. Police defended the officers and cleared them of any criminal wrongdoing, but the Little Rock branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People criticized how the department handled the case.

Cole's mother later filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the department, but a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to hold officers liable in Cole's death.

Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay was a lieutenant at the Police Department at the time. As department spokesman, he gave several interviews regarding the Cole case.

Oberle was involved in a nonfatal shooting as a Little Rock police sergeant in May 1998. He shot Maurice McDonald in the hand as tactical officers executed a narcotics search warrant at McDonald's home. Authorities said McDonald, 27, pointed a handgun at officers before Oberle fired. McDonald was charged with attempted capital murder in the case but later negotiated a guilty plea to aggravated assault.

Metro on 09/29/2016

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