Shotgun cited in shooting by officer

Police alertedby Cabot family

Police lights are shown in this file photo.
Police lights are shown in this file photo.

CABOT -- The Police Department released more details about a police shooting that left a man dead after a traffic stop last week.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, officer Sylvester Starks pulled over Jeffrey Wratten, 37, in the area of Old Mountain Springs Road and Arkansas 5, department spokesman Chris Reilly said in a news release.

Cabot police had been dispatched to a home on Spring Valley Road on a report of a domestic disturbance about 12:30 p.m., according to the release.

The family member who called police told officers that Wratten had grabbed a shotgun and that he had left in his vehicle to go to his home in Heber Springs.

A "be on the lookout" broadcast went out to law enforcement out of concern about Wratten's well-being and his potential to harm others based on the family member's report, police said.

Starks pulled over Wratten at 12:38 p.m. During the traffic stop, he reportedly saw Wratten reach for a gun, then get out of his vehicle holding a shotgun.

Starks repeatedly told Wratten to drop the gun, the news release states. When Wratten did not, Starks fired his weapon at him, police said.

Wratten was reportedly given medical aid and taken by helicopter to a Little Rock hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Reilly said Monday that the police report could not yet be released because the incident remains under investigation.

Starks has been on the force since 2016. He has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, the department said.

Special agents with the Arkansas State Police are investigating the shooting. Agency spokesman Bill Sadler said Monday that the investigation had not yet been completed.

When complete, the investigative file will be turned over to the Lonoke County prosecuting attorney, who will determine whether the use of deadly force was justified.

Thursday marked the second time a Cabot police officer has shot someone this year.

In April, two officers fired nonlethal rounds at a man who brandished a knife at them after barricading himself in his former girlfriend's apartment, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.

The man's injuries were not considered life-threatening. The investigation of that shooting also was turned over to state police.

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