Photo courtesy of Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office
The use of deadly force by law enforcement officers in the fatal March shooting of a fugitive in Faulkner County was justified, prosecutors said this week.
Twentieth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Carol Crews determined that officers acted lawfully when they shot and killed 41-year-old Joseph Blair of Faulkner County, during a confrontation on March 6.
Blair, who had absconded from the Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) and was considered armed and dangerous, had been the subject of a daylong manhunt by the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals after a BOLO (be on the lookout) alert was issued earlier that day.
Around 6:30 p.m., a DOC K-9 team located Blair in a wooded area near Solomon Grove Baptist Church. Authorities said Blair was armed with a firearm and threatened to shoot officers before brandishing the weapon. DOC officers then opened fire, fatally wounding him. He was pronounced dead by the Faulkner County Coroner at approximately 8:30 p.m.
The Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office requested the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division review the shooting. Investigators submitted their findings to Crews for review.
In an April 21 letter to state police, Crews said the officers’ actions were “justified under Arkansas law.”
“Mr. Blair was armed with a deadly weapon, and after telling the officers he would shoot them, he brandished a weapon,” Crews wrote. “The evidence in this case shows, by his own words, an intent on the part of Mr. Blair to engage in a deadly shootout with law enforcement.”
No charges will be filed, and the case is considered closed.
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