Arkansas Headlines
Police identify Jacksonville man killed after armed standoff
Forty-five-year-old Steven Smith of Jacksonville was shot by an officer yesterday after Smith emerged from his home armed after exchanging gunfire with police. Hours earlier, police say, Smith had opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle on officers as they arrived at his house after a resident called to complain that someone was shooting bottle rockets in the neighborhood.
The Reverend Les Farling of St. Jude's Catholic Church in Jacksonville says he talked many times with Smith on previous occasions. Farling says Smith had suffered a head injury in a car accident about eight years ago and had spent about a year in a hospital bed. The priest described Smith as "very quiet and troubled." He says Smith was frustrated by his diminished mental capacity. Police also believe Smith had been under psychiatric care.
A police spokesman says the officer who fired the fatal shot is on administrative leave with pay and the department is confident the investigation will show the shooting was justified.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
© Copyright 2009, UALR Public Radio
(2008-08-26)
(UALR Public Radio) -
An armed man who was killed by police after a long standoff had been "troubled" after he suffered a head injury years ago and moved in with his parents -- the man's pastor says. Forty-five-year-old Steven Smith of Jacksonville was shot by an officer yesterday after Smith emerged from his home armed after exchanging gunfire with police. Hours earlier, police say, Smith had opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle on officers as they arrived at his house after a resident called to complain that someone was shooting bottle rockets in the neighborhood.
The Reverend Les Farling of St. Jude's Catholic Church in Jacksonville says he talked many times with Smith on previous occasions. Farling says Smith had suffered a head injury in a car accident about eight years ago and had spent about a year in a hospital bed. The priest described Smith as "very quiet and troubled." He says Smith was frustrated by his diminished mental capacity. Police also believe Smith had been under psychiatric care.
A police spokesman says the officer who fired the fatal shot is on administrative leave with pay and the department is confident the investigation will show the shooting was justified.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
© Copyright 2009, UALR Public Radio






