Hollenbeck said the police dog was shot during the gunfire and ran from the scene as its handler and other officers scrambled for cover. The dog apparently ran into a heavily wooded area nearby and had not been found as of Wednesday afternoon.
Advertisement
Killed in the shooting was Deputy Bill Cooper.
Also shot was Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells; a bullet grazed his head.
Deputy Cooper was employed with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office since 2001.
A bomb squad was called in to examine Jones’ home after authorities learned he had a license for explosives.
‘He was a ideal example of how we all want our law enforcement officers to be when it comes to relationships with our community, ‘ Hollenbeck said.
Markward said the shooting suspect once helped him split wood, but said he hadn’t seen the man in a few years. Earlier in the day Jones pointed a rifle at this father, Hollenbeck says, who then called 911.
Sheriff’s Cpl. William “Bill” Cooper was shot in the neck after he and other officers arrived for a call of a domestic disturbance near Greenwood Wednesday morning, Fort Smith police spokesman Sgt. Daniel Grubbs told reporters.
Cooper was around 65 and was getting ready to retire soon, Hollenbeck said.
A petition to revoke a suspended sentence was supposed to bring Jones into court on Wednesday morning, according to KSFM.
KHBS, citing court records, reported that Jones was arrested in February on charges of gun possession after having been previously convicted of a felony, and of possession of Oxycodone.
The shooting happened near the intersection of Highway 253 and Boone Road around 7:15 a.m. Drivers said Highway 253 was blocked in both the north and southbound directions.
After the shooting, the suspect barricaded himself inside the house for more than 4½ hours before being arrested. He has not yet been charged. Before that, he spent five years with the Fort Smith Police Department and was a Marine Corps veteran.
Hollenbeck said the motivation for the shooting was unclear.
James Markward, who lives nearby, said he heard a commotion early Wednesday. He didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday. The town, which is about 115 miles west of Little Rock, has around 800 residents.
“I join all Arkansans in mourning the death of Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper”. Pevehouse identified the two shot as a sheriff’s deputy and a Hackett police officer.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, whose district includes part of Sebastian County, also didn’t have details about the incident but echoed the governor’s support for police statewide.
He said the officers from several different departments had no idea what they were walking into.
GOP nominee Donald Trump offered his condolences on Twitter, saying, ‘My thoughts and prayers are with the two police officers shot in Sebastian County, Arkansas’.
Advertisement
No details about the officers’ conditions have been released. “‘My neighbor called me and asked if I was shooting, and I said, ‘No, not me”.
