The Pulaski County sheriff’s office said Thursday that a deputy who fatally shot an armed man in September has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the case.
Deputy Joe Oberle shot and killed Leeland James White, 32, on Sept. 26 after Oberle responded to reports of a man behaving “erratically” in the 22400 block of Colonel Glenn Road, the sheriff’s office said. White, who had a history of mental illness, was reportedly armed with a shotgun and banging on residents’ doors.
The sheriff’s office said White refused to drop the weapon and Oberle shot him to death.
A letter from the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney’s office states that prosecutors had reviewed the case and found that Oberle acted within his rights under Arkansas law.
“After reviewing the information, this office concludes that Deputy Joe Oberle is justified in the use of deadly force and it is our opinion that no further review of this matter is necessary,” chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson wrote.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said Thursday that Oberle had returned to duty. Burk said Oberle had transferred from the patrol division to the investigations division.
The shooting in September wasn’t the first involving Oberle, who has been a lawman in central Arkansas for more than 29 years.
In May 1998, when he was a sergeant at the Little Rock Police Department, Oberle shot Maurice McDonald, 27, in the hand during a drug raid at McDonald’s home. Police said McDonald was armed.
In February 1994, when Oberle was a Little Rock police homicide detective, he fatally shot Victor Irving Cole outside a residence at 1412 S. Taylor St. Cole, 30, was reportedly armed with a handgun that he had stolen from another officer during a struggle.
Oberle was cleared of wrongdoing in those shootings as well.
White had been treated for paranoid-psychotic behavior at UAMS Medical Center and had threatened to kill himself in the months before his fatal encounter with Oberle, according to court records. White reportedly believed that people were “out to get him” and that drones were following him.
Court records show White also had been involved with a child-custody dispute with his ex-wife before he was killed.