JOHNSON COUNTY (KFSM) - The Johnson County reserve deputy killed in an overnight shooting on Friday (May 15) was identified by Arkansas State Police as Sonny Smith, 42, an 11-year veteran with the department.
The suspect arrested in the case, Fred Kauffeld, 51, was injured in the incident, according to authorities.
A news release from Arkansas State Police says Smith and other deputies were searching for a burglary suspect 15 miles east of Clarksville. At 1 a.m., the department received a report of a suspect burglar in the area of County Road 1723, the release states.
Police say deputies were searching the area at 2:30 a.m., and Smith confronted Kauffeld before being shot by him. Smith returned fire, and Kauffeld was arrested, authorities said.
Smith was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead, the release states.
Kauffeld was booked into the Pope County Detention Center, and the investigation is ongoing, according to police.
Arkansas State Police Public Information Officer Bill Sadler said that the Criminal Investigations Department received a request to investigate a deputy-involved shooting early Friday morning.
This is the second death in the line of duty for the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, according to the Officer Down Memorial page. The last Johnson County Deputy killed in the line of duty was Sheriff John Hall Powers in 1902, according to their page.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Department posted a memorial post on their Facebook page Friday morning stating, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and our brothers and sisters in blue to our east."
Below is a photo of Johnson County reserve deputy Sonny Smith.
In addition to working with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office for 11 years, Smith was also a U.S. Navy veteran.
His son graduated from Clarksville High School on Friday evening. The ceremony was held at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Roughly 50 law enforcement officers from throughout Johnson and Pope counties, along with Arkansas State Police, were in attendance.
Clarksville Superintendent David Hopkins said the graduating class wore black ribbons in honor of Smith.