Nearly a dozen police officers returned fire and killed a 37-year-old man who holed up inside a northeast Arkansas home after he shot a woman and later came out firing at officers, authorities said Friday.
The Jonesboro Police Department said 10 SWAT team officers fired at Jay Michael Clem Wednesday evening outside of a mobile home, hours after he barricaded himself inside.
The large police response stemmed from reports of gunfire at the trailer home in the 3100 block of Barnhill Road in Jonesboro, according to the police report.
Witnesses told investigators that Clem, a Jonesboro resident, had pointed a gun at his family before shooting a 67-year-old woman in the lower back, police said.
The woman went to the hospital for her injuries, which required her to undergo surgery, police said. She remained at the hospital Friday and had been improving, a police spokeswoman said.
Clem reportedly stayed in the house and endured police tear gas during a four-hour-long standoff, police said. Negotiators weren’t able to reach him during the impasse.
At some point, Clem came out of the home and fired multiple times at officers. They returned fire and fatally wounded him, according to a statement by the department.
He died at the scene. No officers were injured.
A Jonesboro police spokeswoman said all 10 officers remained on paid administrative leave Friday ahead of an Arkansas State Police investigation into their use of force.
Their experience on the SWAT team range from a few months to up to 12 years.
They are: Sgt. Shon Morris, Pfc. Nathan Ivy, Pfc. Erik Johnson, Cpl. Paul Williams, Sgt. Lane Holmes, Dfc. Bryan Davis, Ptl. Pete Lochner, DCpl. Brian Arnold, Ptl. Michael Talley and Pfc. Bryan Bailey.
State Police will forward its findings to the local prosecutor to see it their use of force was justified.
Police said they plan to release body camera video capturing the deadly encounter next week.
CORRECTION: The officers' experience on the Jonesboro SWAT team range from a few months to up to 12 years. A previous version of this story misstated the officers' experience with the department.