Lawmen shoot man after Pine Bluff chase

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

A man was shot by law enforcement officials in Pine Bluff after a vehicle-and-foot chase on Friday evening, the Jefferson County sheriff’s office said.

The person, whom authorities did not name, “is believed to be deceased.” Authorities said they found “a small caliber gun” near his body. No other information on his status was available late Friday.

Authorities said the chase began after a Jefferson County deputy spotted someone who was wanted on multiple, unspecified charges. As the deputy approached the person at a hotel on Commerce Road, the person got into the passenger seat of a vehicle, which drove off, authorities said. The deputy pursued the vehicle along the Martha Mitchell Expressway.

At one point, the vehicle got stuck at a railroad crossing, the sheriff’s office said in the news release. The passenger left the vehicle and tried to run off but was arrested by a special agent.

The driver left the vehicle, as well, and ran away. A deputy stated that, as he ran after the driver, the man stopped and pointed a gun at him. The deputy took out his gun and then “fired several shots.” The man ran northwest toward Port Road.

Arkansas Department of Corrections canine dogs found the man about 100 yards away. Corrections officers asked him to put his gun down. The sheriff’s office said “he refused, which led to the officers opening fire.”

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