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SEARCHAn England, AR, police officer who said he exchanged gunfire with a suspect last month has been arrested on a charge of filing a false police report and has been fired from his position.
An England, AR, police officer who said he exchanged gunfire with a suspect last month has been arrested on a charge of filing a false police report and has been fired from his position, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette .
The arrest came after 50-year-old David Houser acknowledged he had "fabricated" the story and fired the shot that hit his bulletproof vest, England Police Department chief Nathan Cook said.
"It's every chief's worst nightmare to get a call that your officer has been shot or involved in a shooting," Cook said. "To investigate and find out it's self-inflicted just puts a whole different spin on it."
Houser, of Scott, surrendered to authorities earlier Tuesday and was released from the Lonoke County jail before 10 a.m., officials said.
State police said in a statement that Houser on Oct. 24 reported he was on patrol when he "exchanged gunfire with a suspect who fled from him driving a sport utility vehicle" on Arkansas 15 south of England. Houser also said he had been shot, the statement noted, though the bullet didn't penetrate the vest.
