NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A prosecuting attorney’s office says three
Arkansas police officers have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the fatal
shooting of a 17-year-old earlier this year.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the fatal shooting of Charles Smith
Jr. occurred Jan. 7 during a traffic stop in North Little Rock.
A dashcam video released by the North Little Rock Police Department shows
Smith firing a handgun at officers before he was shot.
Police say officers Cody Stroud, Samantha Thompson and John Blankenship all
fired their weapons at Smith.
John Johnson is the chief deputy prosecuting attorney at the Pulaski County
Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He says the office found the officers’ use of
deadly force to be justified.
A police spokeswoman says the officers have returned to work.
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