North Little Rock police early Sunday morning shot and killed a teen during a traffic stop, authorities said.
Officers initiated the stop at 1:04 a.m. near the intersection of 52nd Street and Camp Robinson Road, according to a department news release. Police didn't release the reason for the traffic stop on Sunday.
Three people were in the car, and police found a gun on one of the individuals -- 17-year-old Charles Smith -- during a pat-down search, the release stated.
A struggle ensued, and Smith fired "at least one shot at the officers which resulted in the officers firing shots at the suspect," police said.
Smith died at the scene.
The officers weren't identified on Sunday.
The involved officers were placed on paid leave -- a policy followed by most law enforcement agencies after an officer uses deadly force.
Sgt. Brian Dedrick, a North Little Rock Police Department spokesman, said in an email that the department would conduct a criminal investigation into its officers' decision to use deadly force. The agency is one of a handful of mostly large departments in Arkansas that elect to conduct in-house criminal investigations of deadly force encounters. The majority of departments request outside agencies -- usually Arkansas State Police -- to investigate those incidents.
On Sunday afternoon, the scene of the shooting had quieted down. Only a television news crew and several onlookers remained. A makeshift memorial -- consisting of balloons, flowers, candles, stuffed animals, a basketball and a rain-drenched poster with smeared writing -- had been placed along the curb.
Metro on 01/08/2018