SCOTT COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — A special prosecutor assigned to an excessive force case out of Waldron has filed a motion to no longer prosecute Scott County Sheriff Randy Shores, who was originally charged with witnessing an officer abuse a suspect and not intervening.
On Sept. 30, 2022, arrest documents were filed that laid out a case against a Waldron Police Sergeant for third-degree battery of a suspect after a police chase that also involved Sheriff Shores, who was charged for witnessing the abuse and not doing anything to stop it.
Shores' affidavit said bodycam footage shows that he witnessed Sgt. Omar Gonzalez "strike Robert Deer in the head several times and sling him while handcuffed into the front of Mr. Deer's van."
On April 4, 2023, Special Prosecutor Emily White filed the motion to no longer prosecute Shores because Shores "had not completed any law enforcement training on recognizing Use of Force engagements or intervening in Use of Force engagements during his career as a law enforcement officer in this state."
The motion goes on to say that Shores acknowledged that proper law enforcement training would have caused him to intervene.
Deer was a suspect driving a van that lead several police departments on a chase on Feb. 16, 2022, beginning at 11 p.m.
Gonzalez was charged with three counts of battery in the third degree.
The suspect, identified as Robert Deer, lost control and came to a stop at the intersection of US Highway 71 and Echo Road. Deer reportedly had complied with Huntington and Mansfield officers who had asked him to get out of his van and lay on the ground.
This is when Sgt. Gonzalez approached Deer "from his blind side," and kicked him in the back of the head, according to the affidavit. Gonzalez then put his knee in Deer's back and continued to hit him "several times in the head with his fist."
The report goes on to say once Deer was handcuffed, Gonzalez "picked him up off the ground and slung him into the front" of Deer's van, "headfirst."
Deer's eye was injured, causing his right eye to swell shut, the affidavit says.
The sheriff's department said they were disappointed in the decision to charge Sheriff Shores. The statement says, "Sheriff Shores has stated that he did not witness the actions that led to the third-degree battery charge, and therefore was never in a position to intervene."
Special Prosecutor Emily White said the incident on February 16, 2022, involved multiple agencies. "Mr. Deer sustained physical injury as a result of his interaction with law enforcement on this date," White said.
On Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, Shores did an interview with 5NEWS to declare his innocence.
"I did nothing wrong…I'll have my day in court on it," said Shores.
"I walked up on the scene probably right in the middle of some stuff that already happened and I walked into pepper spray," said Shores. "Probably the next two or three minutes I was just trying to get my eyesight back, I never really saw anything."
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Arrest warrant affidavits can be found below.
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