FAYETTEVILLE, Ark — A Fayetteville Police Officer has been justified in a shooting incident that happened in late July.
Fayetteville Police Chief Mike Reynolds announced Thursday (July 6) the Prosecuting Attorney’s findings of the shooting incident that occurred on July 27.
Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett reviewed the independent criminal investigation completed by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and determined Officer Kyle Jeney was justified in the use of deadly physical force.
Officer Jeney will remain on paid administrative leave until the internal investigation is completed and reviewed by Chief Reynolds. This procedure is in conjunction with Fayetteville Police Department Policies and Procedures.
According to the dispatch log, officers were called to a suicide threat in that area around 7 p.m. The caller reported the man was suicidal and took a large amount of seizure medication.
According to Tony Murphy with the Fayetteville Police Department, officers tried multiple times to make contact using the front door, but when they were unable to, one officer began to make their way to the back yard.
The suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Josh Myers, pointed what police believed was a rifle at the officer as they rounded the corner to the backyard.
Myers was armed with what appeared to be a black and brown rifle, which he aimed at both officers. One officer fired two rounds, striking Myers once in the left thigh.
According to Fayetteville Police, after investigating it was found that Myers was actually holding a Tippman 98 Paintball rifle.
The officers applied a tourniquet to the Myers' leg and assisted with first aid until EMT's arrived. He was taken to a hospital and treated for his wound.
No officers were injured during the incident.