HOT SPRINGS -- Arkansas State Police on Thursday identified the suspect who was fatally shot during a struggle with a trooper on Wednesday in western Garland County as Timothy Andrew Kemp Jr., of Mountain Pine.
The trooper involved was identified as Trooper 1st Class Ryan Wingo, a six-year veteran of the Arkansas State Police, state police said in a news release.
"An investigation of the incident that occurred as Kemp attempted to gain control of the trooper's pistol is continuing," the release states.
Kemp, 34, was reportedly a Level 3 registered sex offender, having been convicted Jan. 15, 2014, in Texas of indecency with a child by sexual contact involving a 13-year-old girl. Level 3 sex offenders are considered a high risk for reoffending, according to the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.
Kemp fled on foot following a motorcycle pursuit that ended in the 600 block of Woodview Lane, running into the nearby woods where an altercation occurred with Wingo when the trooper tried to take him into custody, according to an Arkansas State Police release Wednesday.
At 12:34 p.m. Wednesday, Wingo reported he was attempting to stop a motorcycle driver who was not complying with his emergency lights and siren to signal a traffic stop, the release states.
A short pursuit proceeded west along Airport Road toward the Lake Hamilton School District, where Kemp turned off the highway onto Sunshine Road "still trying to evade the trooper," it said.
"As the driver of the motorcycle reached the dead-end of Woodview Lane, he abandoned the bike and fled on foot in a northeasterly direction through a wooded area with the trooper following.
"The trooper's orders to stop were ignored by the suspect, at which time the trooper fired a TASER, a less than lethal device, in an attempt to stop the suspect."
"As the trooper neared the suspect, he began to resist the trooper's orders to surrender," the release said. "The suspect grabbed the trooper's gun and a struggle for the gun resulted in the trooper shooting the suspect at 12:46 p.m."
Special Agents with the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division began investigating the incident and will prepare a case file to be submitted to the Garland County prosecuting attorney's office for review.
"The prosecutor will determine whether the use of deadly force by the trooper was consistent with Arkansas laws," the release said. As required by Arkansas State Police policy and procedures, Wingo was placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues.
The fatal shooting of a suspect is believed to be the first in Garland County since 2016.
Former Mountain Pine Police Chief Chad King was wounded Jan. 27, 2016, in an exchange of gunfire with a parolee, Scott Scanlon, 52, of Hot Springs, during a confrontation in the Little Blakely Creek Road area in Jessieville.
King was shot three times in the leg and hip area by Scanlon, who was pronounced dead at the scene. King was placed on administrative leave, but later returned to work after Former Prosecuting Attorney Terri Harris determined his use of deadly force was justified.