Prosecutor clears 2 officers in shooting

Pair encountered murder suspect

No charges will be filed against two northeast Arkansas officers who fatally shot a suspect in a recent homicide, the prosecutor for the area said Tuesday.

Jonesboro Police Department officers Bryan Bailey and Christopher Jefferson have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of Rodney Fisher, 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said in a news release.

Bailey and Jefferson encountered Fisher, 47, on March 7 near Curtview and Race streets while investigating a drug complaint, according to a letter Ellington sent to the Arkansas State Police. Bailey said he witnessed Nichole Herndon walking behind the apartments at 2708 Curtview Street. Herndon was listed as a missing person and officers believed she had witnessed a homicide on French Street a week before and was forced from the scene against her will.

Bailey said that as he approached the breezeway between the apartment buildings he was confronted by Fisher, who was wanted for first-degree murder and was a suspect in the French Street homicide.

"The officers had earlier been advised by department memo circulated within the patrol division that Fisher was armed and dangerous, and Fisher had made threats against law enforcement officers," Ellington said in the letter. "They were told that Fisher had said that he would not go back to prison because he would not be taken alive."

Police said Fisher pulled a handgun on the officers before he was shot.

"When Fisher saw officer Bailey, he pulled out a pistol with his right hand and waved it around," Ellington said. "As the second officer came into Fisher's view, [Fisher] began turning the handgun in an upward position. At that point, officer Jefferson fired his weapon at Fisher, as did officer Bailey."

Officials said Fisher was hit in the chest and leg and died later at a local hospital.

Fisher was wanted in the death of 44-year-old David Marshall. Officers found Marshall dead after responding Feb. 28 to the 1100 block of French Street.

On March 4, police upgraded Marshall's death to a homicide and said they had learned that Herndon, his roommate, had been missing since Feb. 25.

Police said the investigation of Marshall's death revealed that Herndon was present at the time of the shooting and was forced to leave the home by Fisher. Police said Herndon was held against her will, sometimes at gunpoint, for more than a week.

Ellington said the officers' body cameras recorded the shooting and it confirmed their previous statements.

Arkansas Section 5-2-601 (b)(2) allows the use of deadly force if the officer reasonably believes the use of deadly force is necessary to defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use -- or imminent use -- of deadly force.

"Officers Bailey and Jefferson knew that Rodney Fisher was wanted for 1st Degree Murder, and furthermore, knew that if they encountered him, he had previously threatened police and said he would not be going back to prison," Ellington said in the letter to the Arkansas State Police. "The officers tried to deescalate the situation, and tried to get Fisher to drop his weapon to no avail. They had every reason to believe that he would use the pistol he held, and when Fisher raised the pistol toward the officers, they acted in defense of their lives, and fired their weapons in self-defense."

Metro on 03/20/2019

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