Gunfire kills 2 W. Memphis officers

Killers slain, 2 additional officers hurt

Vehicles crowd the Wal-Mart parking lot in West Memphis, where Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and Chief Deputy W.A. Wren were wounded in a Thursday gunbattle that killed two suspects in the shooting deaths of two West Memphis police officers.
Vehicles crowd the Wal-Mart parking lot in West Memphis, where Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and Chief Deputy W.A. Wren were wounded in a Thursday gunbattle that killed two suspects in the shooting deaths of two West Memphis police officers.

— Two police officers were killed in a traffic-stop shooting Thursday on Interstate 40, touching off a manhunt that ended with two additional lawmen shot and the two killers dead.

Two gunmen killed West Memphis Police Sgt. Brandon Paudert, 39, and officer Bill Evans, 38, after they pulled over a white minivan on I-40 eastbound about 11:30 a.m.

<strong>VIDEO COVERAGE</strong>
-<a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/wmemphisshooting2/">Aerial video of shootout at Walmart</a>
-<a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/wmemphisshooting/">Video news coverage and interviews from the scene</a></strong>.
<strong>VIDEO COVERAGE</strong> -<a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/wmemphisshooting2/">Aerial video of shootout at Walmart</a> -<a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/wmemphisshooting/">Video news coverage and interviews from the scene</a></strong>.

Paudert was the son of West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert. Evans was the brother of West Memphis police officer Jimmy Evans. Both were members of West Memphis’ criminal interdiction unit, which targets drug trafficking on the interstate and highways.

Police officers slain in W. Memphis

Police officers slain in W. Memphis

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“These local officers ... made the ultimate sacrifice today,” Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said. “We will not forget them and the service they gave to the people of West Memphis and Crittenden County.”

Authorities said that after the I-40 shootings, the two gunmen sped in their van along a service road to a nearby Wal-Mart parking lot, where they were later spotted by two other police officers and a firefight started.

The suspects wielded a “long rifle” and a handgun, Sadler said. Witnesses said the gun battle lasted about 15 minutes.

Bill Sadler press conference

Bill Sadler press conference

Video available Watch Video

Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and Chief Deputy W.A. Wren were wounded in the exchange of bullets.

Authorities said Thursday night that Busby was in stable condition and Wren was in critical but stable condition at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.

Police shot the two suspects, killing them within 100 feet of the Wal-Mart store’s entrance. Authorities would not reveal the names of the suspects, but both appeared to be white men.

Their bodies lay in the Wal-Mart parking lot for hours as investigators worked at the scene that was riddled with shell casings and broken glass.

Evans had attempted to pull over the minivan at 11:36a.m. near mile marker 275 on eastbound I-40, Sadler said.

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The van exited the interstate and pulled over at an exit ramp near College Avenue, he said. Soon, Paudert arrived to provide backup.

Within minutes, one of the suspects knocked Evans to the ground, and shots were fired, Sadler said.

A broadcast for help was made from the scene. Police wouldn’t say where on their bodies the officers had been shot.

The killers fled east, entering the Wal-Mart parking lot along Rich Road about a mile away.

Sadler said law enforcement officers from West Memphis, the sheriff’s office and Game and Fish Commission began scouring the area for the suspects.

The eastbound lanes of the I-40 and I-55 bridges across the Mississippi River into Memphis were closed during the search, backing up traffic for miles.

About 90 minutes later, Busby and Wren spotted the minivan in the parking lot, Sadler said.

From inside the minivan, the killers shot at Busby and Wren, officials said, and a gunbattle started.

At some point, a Game and Fish Commission officer arrived and rammed the gunmen’s minivan, crushing in the driver’s side.

Other authorities converged on the vehicle from all sides.

A Wal-Mart employee who wouldn’t give his name described the scene as “pandemonium.”

Shoppers ran to safety into the store’s rear storage and break rooms. At least one person crawled through the parking lot on hands and knees into the store, one customer said.

Shirley Kelly of West Memphis was inside the Wal-Mart during the shootout.

She said she could hear the gunfire outside for at least 15 minutes. At one point, she looked out the door and saw authorities behind a car shooting, she said.

“It looked like CSI,” Kelly said.

“I could hear blam blam blam. I was so close to it, it was like I shouldn’t be looking out the door.”

Kelly said she then ran back to the store’s break room.

Sadler said it was lucky that no customers were injured.

“With this many people present, somebody was watching over,” he said.

Hours after the gunfire, Kelly and several others were still at the store waiting to get to their vehicles. Police had placed yellow crime tape around half of the parking lot, corralling in at least 50 vehicles, including the killers’ van. It sat riddled with bullet holes.

The suspects’ dead bodies lay on opposite sides outside the van. The body on the driver’s side was slumped face down and shirtless, with a blue tarp covering its head.

At least three law enforcement vehicles had bullet holes in them. Windows were shattered, and tires were blown out.

A bloody handprint was on the rear bumper of one officer’s car.

Mike Allen, assistant chief of the West Memphis Police Department, said law enforcement was in both of the fallen officers’ bloodlines.

Like Brandon Paudert, Bill Evans’ father was also in law enforcement.

Evans’ grandfather also worked for the sheriff’s office.

Evans had worked for the West Memphis Police Department for nine years and Paudert for seven years. Paudert was married with three children, and Evans had two children.

“These men were out here protecting all of us. And they done a damn good job of it,” Allen said, holding back tears. “It’s a shame they were taken so young.

“The men and women of the West Memphis Police Department are deeply saddened,” Allen added. “ It’s going to hurt for a long time.”

Authorities wouldn’t divulge any additional information about the killers or the shootings in order to protect the “integrity of the investigation,” Sadler said, promising more details in the days ahead.

“The people of this city and state deserve some answers,” he said.

Busby, an 11-term Democrat who has been in office for 22 years, announced in March that he planned to retire. He is to leave office Dec. 31.

His friend and co-worker, Wren, also plans to retire in December, Crittenden County Clerk Ruth Trent said.

Community residents were shocked by the shootings, Trent said.

“It’s so sad,” she said, adding that she knows Busby and Wren. “It’s hard. They’re good people.”

Max Herron, a friend of Busby’s, went to the hospital in Memphis as soon as he heard that the sheriff had been shot in the shoulder.

“The last report we got, he was out of surgery and everything’s going to be OK,” Herron said.

The two men were supposed to play golf Thursday, he said, but rainy, windy weather kept that from happening.

Within hours of the shooting, people across the state and country expressed sympathy for the fallen officers and their families.

Among those offering their condolences was Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe.

“Just last week, ceremonies across Arkansas were held to remember fallen law-enforcement officers and remind us of the dangers they face on a daily basis. That reminder was tragically reinforced today in Crittenden County. Sergeant Brandon Paudert and officer Bill Evans died upholding their duty to serve and protect the residents of West Memphis,” a statement from Beebe said.

“I have reached out to express my condolences to the entire West Memphis Police Department, including Sergeant Paudert’s father, Chief Bob Paudert.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are also with Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busbyand Chief Deputy W.A. Wren, who both continue to fight for their lives at a Memphis hospital.”

“This is a loss shared by all Arkansans,” the governor added.

By Thursday evening, more than 2,000 people had signed up on a memorial Facebook page for the officers.

One woman wrote, “A very sad day in our city ... the families of our slain heros are going to need our prayers for a very long time. Prayers for a speedy recovery to Sherriff Busby and Deputy Wren!”

Another man wrote, “prayers go out to the families, friends and brothers in blue of two of the bravest officers I have ever known. Bill, I love you brother. I’m gonna miss you!!”

At least two other law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty near West Memphis in recent years.

West Memphis police officer Michael Waters, 24, was killed Sept. 11, 2003, during a pursuit after an armed robbery. He died after his patrol car hit a construction barrier on Interstate 55 near the Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge.

Two years later to the day, Sept. 11, 2005, state police Cpl. Mark Carthron, 31, was killed on I-40 in West Memphis when he was hit by another state police trooper’s car during a pursuit. Carthron had been placing spiked strips on the highway to stop a fleeing suspect.

Until Thursday, former Plumerville police officer Joey Cannon had been the most recent Arkansas law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. He was shot to death in June 2009.

UPDATE: Police: 2 suspects dead after Ark. officers slain

Information for this article was contributed by Amy Upshaw and Kenneth Heard of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 05/21/2010

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