VIDEO: Arkansas Reserve Deputy Killed in Shootout with Burglary Suspect
A reserve Johnson County, Ark., deputy was fatally shot overnight while confronting a suspect in a burglary, authorities said, reports the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas State Police said Sonny Smith, 42 and an 11-year veteran of the agency, died after being shot about 2:30 a.m. in eastern Johnson County about 15 miles east of Clarksville.
The suspected shooter, identified as Fred Kaufield, has been arrested, police added.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said in a news release that the sheriff's office was first called around 1 a.m. about a possible burglar on County Road 1723. Smith was among the deputies searching the area when he confronted an individual later identified as Kaufield, police said.
The two reportedly traded gunfire and Smith was hit at least once, according to the news release. He died a short time later at a hospital.
Kaufield was treated for minor injuries and then booked into the Pope County jail, police said.
