Officers with the Jacksonville Police Department attempted to deploy a Taser on a man Sunday before using deadly force, and the incident is being investigated by the department, authorities said.
Police Chief John Franklin said the unidentified man who was shot and killed after swinging a knife at officers in the backyard of a Jacksonville residence was a white man in his early 60s.
"An internal and criminal investigation has been opened," Franklin said. "We expect the criminal investigation to be done by the end of the week and we expect the internal to be done soon as well. They aren't very complicated cases."
The man's identity and the officer's identity will not be released until an investigation is completed, Franklin said. Body camera footage will be available once the investigation is complete, Franklin said.
"We are trying to be as transparent as possible," Franklin said.
The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy.
Jacksonville officers were dispatched at 11:58 a.m. Sunday to a residence at 1200 McArthur Drive after receiving reports that a man was choking his sister.
"He resided at the property where the incident occurred," Franklin said. "He was known to us, and his mother called two weeks ago wanting us to supervise his leaving of the property because she wanted him gone. He had a prior record as well."
Before officers arrived, the man armed himself with a knife and made threats toward relatives and himself, authorities said in their release.
Police arrived at the scene at 12:03 p.m. and encountered the man in the residence's backyard. They said they attempted to negotiate with him before he swung the knife.
"Five officers were on the scene, I believe," Franklin said. "They had fired a Taser, but it failed and it progressed to deadly force when he attempted to harm one officer in particular."
One officer then fired his gun at the man, striking him.
"He fired one shot," Franklin said. "First aid was immediately started."
The man was transported to North Metro Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
This is the second officer-involved shooting for the department this year, department spokesman April Kiser previously said.
According to previous reports, Jacksonville police officers fatally shot a man on June 14 during what authorities said was an attempted burglary at a School Drive car dealership.
Information for this article was contributed by Kat Stromquist of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 07/09/2019