A man who was shot at by a Union County Sheriff's deputy late last month was not injured and is currently being held at the county jail, Sheriff Ricky Roberts said Tuesday.
On Sept. 30, Roberts reported that an investigation into an officer-involved shooting was underway at the Union County Sheriff's Office; he said on Tuesday that the UCSO's investigation has concluded, but the Arkansas State Police are still looking into the matter.
Roberts said UCSO deputies joined a Smackover Police officer on Sept. 30 in response to a call about an unwanted person. Upon arrival, they encountered Sammy W. Cupples, 36, of El Dorado, who Roberts said had a gun.
"He had his jacket draped over something in his hands. They were asking to see his hands," Roberts said. "Once he showed his hands -- he had a rifle --, he immediately turned and started running, ran off into the woods."
UCSO deputies and the Smackover PD officer subsequently coaxed Cupples out of the woods, Roberts said, this time without the gun. However, as the officers spoke with Cupples, one approached him, at which point Cupples allegedly pulled a knife.
"The deputy shot, and (Cupples) fell as if he was shot, but got back up. Another deputy tried to tase him, and then he ran off in the woods," Roberts said.
About an hour after the shooting incident, officers obtained security camera footage showing Cupples, who appeared to be uninjured, Roberts said. The following day, on Oct. 1, officers searched the woods where Cupples ran away, where they found the rifle he had in his hands at the start of his encounter with police, Roberts said.
"As daylight broke, we searched the area where he went into the woods, located a .22 rifle with one shell in the chamber that was jammed as if he tried to shoot it," the sheriff said.
The UCSO learned later that day that Cupples might be at a residence in Ouachita County. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement agencies including the UCSO, Smackover PD, El Dorado Police Department and Ouachita County Sheriff's Office -- including the UCSO and EPD SWAT teams -- searched the home, where Cupples and four others with outstanding warrants were arrested, Roberts said.
"When we did find the young man, he was not hit. He was not shot," Roberts said. "It did look like one of the tasers maybe hit him in the back, but it didn't have any effect on him at all. Other than that, he had no marks or anything on him."
Roberts declined to share the name of the deputy who shot his gun, citing the ASP's ongoing investigation.
ASP Public Information Officer Bill Sadler said on Oct. 1 that the ASP was notified of the incident the evening it occurred; however, after hearing the initial facts of the case, believed it "did not rise to procedural prerequisites for opening a case file." On Oct. 1, however, he said the ASP was re-considering opening a file on the case, but hadn't by about 4 p.m. that day.
On Tuesday afternoon, Sadler said records wouldn't be available until today on what role the ASP Criminal Investigations Division is playing in the investigation into the shooting incident.
Roberts said the UCSO assembled a "shooting review board" to investigate the incident as well. The board was made up of a UCSO captain, lieutenant, sergeant and a representative of the officer involved's choosing.
"What we do is see if department policies and procedures were followed, along with state and federal law; they have to look at it all, collectively. And something we also look at is is there any training that we might could learn from this to maybe better equip our officers ... on how to handle a situation like this," Roberts said. "What the board found in their investigation is that no policies or procedures were violated, no state, local or federal laws were violated. The officer acted in self-defense, so therefore, we cleared him. He's back at work, he's been back at work and we're moving forward."
Roberts said the idea of a shooting review board is one he carried over to the UCSO from his time leading the EPD. He said he believes it's fair that an officer be judged by others who know the job.
"It's not a task that we take lightly. We want to be right when we do use force -- any kind of force, especially deadly force. We want to know that we're training our officers to do the right thing, and we want to know that we're right when we do have to use force; that's what a shooting review board does," he said. "It's called due process. These officers are allowed due process in discipline or when a shooting occurs; they have the right to be heard, to give their side of the story and to be judged by their peers as far as what they did or what they didn't do."
The sheriff said he hopes to avoid incidents such as the one that occurred on Sept. 30. He urged those who encounter police to follow any directions given to them, even if they don't agree, and take the issue to court if necessary.
"Basically, all (Cupples) had to do was drop the weapon and surrender and everything would've been fine, but he pushed the issue and our officers have the right to defend themselves just like anyone else," Roberts said. "We do the best we can in that split-second to keep everybody safe, but sometimes the people we encounter won't let us. ... If an arrest is not justified, let's fight it out in court, not on the side of the road."
Cupples is facing charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, first-degree terroristic threatening, possession of a firearm by certain persons, possession of a defaced firearm, fleeing and criminal trespassing. He was being held at the Union County Detention Facility on a $100,000 bond on Tuesday afternoon.
"We're just thankful that no one was seriously hurt," Roberts said.
