Man fatally shot by police outside west Little Rock hotel named; wouldn't show his hands, report says

Little Rock police identified Thursday the man fatally shot by a police officer outside a hotel Wednesday night.

Police said Austin Dakota Snyder, 22, was wanted on multiple felony arrest warrants when officers found him in a stolen GMC Yukon about 10:15 p.m. in the parking lot of an Extended Stay America at 10800 Kanis Road. As uniformed officers approached the vehicle, Snyder drove forward and crashed into a passing Dodge Challenger, according to a police report. The Challenger then struck a police car.

Police, who had reportedly received information that Snyder was armed, said Snyder ignored commands to show his hands. An officer opened fire when Snyder "dropped his right hand from the steering wheel to his right side," the report states.

Snyder was taken to Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock for treatment. He died from his injuries shortly afterward.

No one else was injured, according to reports.

Police had not named the officer who shot Snyder by late Thursday. Department spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan said the officer had been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, in accordance with department policy.

Little Rock police and the U.S. Marshals Service had been searching for Snyder of North Little Rock for several days in connection with vehicle thefts and break-ins, according to reports. Snyder had been living in hotels, according to Little Rock police. He'd reportedly been seen driving the stolen Yukon at Americas Best Value Inn at 200 S. Shackleford Road earlier Wednesday.

Police said Trent Johnson, 22, and Courtney Binz, 21, were in the vehicle with Snyder when he tried to flee police Wednesday night. McClanahan said Johnson and Binz have not been charged in the case.

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The shooting Wednesday wasn't Snyder's first encounter with law enforcement officers. Court records show that he pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of breaking or entering, and seven counts of misdemeanor theft of property in July.

In 2014, Snyder was among 33 people indicted by a federal grand jury in a prescription drug ring in central Arkansas, according to court records. He was convicted of use of a communication device in furtherance of drug trafficking and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Snyder also pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of carrying a weapon and disorderly conduct in 2014.

A woman who identified herself as Snyder's grandmother said in a phone call Thursday that his family had no comment about his death.

Snyder's death was the third fatal shooting involving Little Rock police this year.

Officers Brian Osmundson and Samuel Hill fatally shot Michael Hornibrook, 54, in the city's River Market District downtown on March 26, according to reports. Hornibrook had reportedly pointed a pistol at a man during an argument outside Ernie Biggs piano bar. Police said the officers chased Hornibrook into a nearby alley and shot Hornibrook when he raised a gun toward them.

On Feb. 24, officer Angela Everett shot and killed Gregory Childress, 44, when Childress tried to rob her at gunpoint, according to police. Everett had been working off-duty as a security guard at a state revenue office on North Rodney Parham Road, police said. She was wearing her police uniform when Childress tried to rob her, the department reported.

Assistant Police Chief Hayward Finks, speaking to reporters after Snyder was killed Wednesday night, said the department investigates officer-involved shootings "one at a time."

"We'll focus on this one tonight," he said. "In this particular incident, the officers felt the reason to fear for the safety of [the man driving the Challenger], as well as the officers' safety, which led to officers firing their weapon tonight."

The Police Department's use-of-force policy prohibits officers from shooting at moving vehicles unless "it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious physical injury to the officer or another person."

The policy also bans officers from positioning themselves in front of oncoming vehicles.

"When confronted by a moving vehicle, officers will move out of its path, rather than fire at the vehicle," the policy states.

McClanahan said the Yukon that Snyder was driving was impounded as evidence. He said investigators were also seeking surveillance footage from the hotel.

All of the shootings involving Little Rock police this year remain under investigation.

Metro on 04/07/2017