FORT SMITH, Ark. — According to the Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD), around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2023, officers responded to reports that Liam Carey, a deputy with the Benton County Sheriff's Office (BCSO), was "pulling a girl's hair and slapping another girl's face."
FSPD says when they arrived on the scene, they found one of the alleged victims "visibly upset and crying; she quickly made the comment that she really needed to talk to us."
Police report when they asked the woman what was going on, she said they "had all been drinking tonight," but Carey "just snapped and lost control" after "drinking a lot."
The woman told police Carey shoved her head while she was trying to calm him down, yelled at her and her friend to leave, and shoved her to the ground when she asked him what was going on.
Another woman reported Carey "snapped and slapped [another woman] ... and then grabbed her by the hair with one hand and her throat with the other."
Witnesses told police later in the night Carey continued to do "strange things, such as going out to the garage and trying to get into her car while saying it was his."
Police say in a conversation with Carey, he "provided the same information as [one woman] ... however, he could not remember the events that had taken place when it came to the time of the altercation."
One of the arresting Fort Smith officers noted that Carey appeared to be very intoxicated, "It was apparent Liam was intoxicated to the point that he could not recall where he was when he asked if this was Sequoyah County."
Carey is facing a third-degree domestic assault charge.
BCSO says Carey was terminated on August 14.
5NEWS will update this story as more information becomes available.
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