Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper, 65, was pronounced dead about 1:15pm after being shot in the neck, Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said during a news conference.
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About 7:40 a.m., both Cooper and Spells were shot, Hollenbeck said.
“Jones wanted to cause what was told to us as a “ruckus” and he was due in court in Fort Smith regarding a petition to revoke a suspended sentence charge”. Arkansas State Police is providing assistance but referred calls to local authorities.
Hackett Chief of Police Darrell Spells earlier was treated and released from the hospital after being grazed in the forehead by a bullet. Officers at the scene said she received a gunshot wound that likely wasfatal and ran away.
“We have limited information as to why this has happened”, Hollenbeck said, adding that investigators are “looking into” the possibility that this was a planned attack.
The father claimed Jones had pulled a gun on him. “I join with all Arkansans as we mourn the passing of this selfless servant and keep his family and loved ones and all of the law enforcement community in our thoughts and prayers”.
Spells, who has served as chief of Hackett since December 2013, became a part-time police officer in 2002 in his home town of Huttig and later became a full-time officer for the El Dorado Police Department, the Times Record, which serves western Arkansas, reported in January 2014. Jones, who has prior gun and drug charges, is now facing two counts of felony first-degree battery and possession of firearms by certain persons, but more charges will be added to his rap sheet.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson stressed the need for the community to be supportive of police and said the shooting demonstrates the danger law enforcement faces. U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, whose district includes part of Sebastian County, also didn’t have details about the shooting but echoed the governor’s support for police around Arkansas.
Westerman says: “It’s a shame the price that law enforcement officers are paying right now”.
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‘Corporal Cooper was shot today in the line of duty responding to a domestic disturbance call. Cooper died Wednesday after he was shot while responding to a home near Hackett, about 115 miles west of Little Rock. Police said a rifle was used in the standoff. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission. Doing so may result in civil and/or criminal penalties.
