July 17, 2023 Arkansas State Crime Lab (ASCL) Director Kermit Channell announced today he will retire, effective August 31. Arkansas Public Safety Secretary Colonel Mike Hagar announced that J.R. Howard will serve as acting ASCL director. Howard brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience, having served as ASCL director from April 2004 to May 2007, when he was inducted as U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas. He also served more than 34 years with the Arkansas State Police, which included a 16-month stint as director beginning in 2011.  Channell began working at the ASCL in 1987

July 11, 2023 The Forrest City man who shot and killed a 21-year-old passenger of a car on Interstate 40 nearly two years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison. Justin Mays, 26, was found guilty on June 28th of capital murder, two counts of terroristic acts, and two counts of first-degree battery. Mays was sentenced to a life term plus 10 years in Arkansas Department of Corrections custody. In the early morning hours of August 21, 2021, Mays opened fire on a vehicle traveling on I-40 near Morgan, striking Kindylen Roberts, of Marion. Roberts later died

July 10, 2023 This summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is teaming up with Arkansas law enforcement to keep drivers and passengers safe by raising awareness about the dangers of speeding and urging drivers to obey speed limits. From July 17 through July 31, law enforcement officers will be on higher alert for speeding vehicles while participating in the Speeding Slows You Down campaign. If you’re pulled over for speeding, you can expect to be issued a ticket for breaking the law. Not only is speeding illegal, it’s deadly. In 2020, speeding killed 11,258

July 6, 2023 At about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, the Pine Bluff Police Department asked Arkansas State Police to investigate a shooting that occurred on Brentwood Drive because a parttime PBPD employee was involved in the incident, which has been described as a domestic disturbance. Homeowner Whitney Bradley, 37, called 911 after reportedly firing her service weapon at Brandon Stringfellow, 40, who was visiting her home. Stringfellow was taken by ambulance to Jefferson Regional Medical Center for medical treatment.  He is reported to be in stable condition. Bradley, who is a parttime PBPD patrol officer, was placed

Twenty-nine Arkansas State Police Recruits received their Trooper commissions tonight during a graduation ceremony in the rotunda of the state capitol.  The graduates were among an initial field of 436 applicants who were tested and interviewed before entering a rigorous 21-week training stint. The graduates received 1,100 hours of specialized instruction in the academy classrooms and through practical training exercises outside the classroom.  The graduates were sworn under oath as Arkansas State Troopers by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as the keynote speaker. Major Roby Rhoads and Colonel Mike Hagar, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, addressed

Additional information contact:ADEM PIO – LaTresha Woodruff(501) 683-6700PublicAffairs@adem.arkansas.gov June 28, 2023 North Little Rock, AR – With dangerously high temperatures expected in the coming weeks, the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) urges Arkansans to take precautions to reduce the risk of heat overexposure. Find cooling centers in your area: Cooling Centers – Arkansas Governor – Sarah Huckabee Sanders ADEM, a division of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, recommends getting educated on watches and warnings.  Excessive Heat WatchForecasters expect a prolonged period (2 to 3 days) of exceedingly hot and humid weather conditions. Heat AdvisoryIssued within 12 hours before dangerous

June 28, 2023 Earlier today, the Cabot Police Department (CPD) asked Arkansas State Police’s Criminal Investigation Division to investigate an officer-involved shooting. On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at approximately 12:11 a.m., CPD was dispatched to Cabot Emergency Hospital after receiving a call that Douglas Nutter, 51, was involved in an altercation there. According to reports from officers, Nutter failed to comply with officer commands to stop, driving to a residence on Shady Lane in Lonoke County, where he again failed to comply with orders. During the encounter, CPD officers fired their services weapons, striking Nutter in the hand. Nutter was

June 26, 2023 This Independence Day, protect your freedom and the lives of others by committing to sober driving. Arkansas law enforcement will be teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility impaired driving enforcement campaign. The primary goal of the increased law enforcement presence will be to help prevent tragedies previously seen around the July 4th holiday. According to NHTSA, 13,384 motor vehicle crash-related deaths in 2021 involved alcohol-impaired drivers. This represented 31 percent of all traffic fatalities in the United States for the

June 23, 2023 The numbers are in for the third stage of Operation Safe Streets, which occurred over the June 17-18 weekend. Arkansas State Police is reporting 788 arrests for violations including 121 driving at excessive speeds and 24 driving while intoxicated. More than 45 Troopers from Arkansas’ 12 Troops, including members of ASP’s command staff, made contact with 1,274 violators during the 48-hour effort. Operation Safe Streets, which kicked off May 13 and has included three weekends, is an initiative to saturate the Little Rock metropolitan area with an enhanced law enforcement presence intent on shutting down criminal activity.

June 21, 2023 Arkansas State Police Colonel Mike Hagar introduced keynote speaker Bill Buford, retired ASP Bomb Squad Commander and former ATF Agent in Charge, at the 2023 Arkansas State Police Awards Ceremony today. “In the 25 years I was Agent in Charge here … I never had State Police turn me down once,” Buford said. “It always felt so good when we rolled up on the scene and saw a State Police car. I would think, ‘Thank God the big hats are here.’ “ Buford was the resident Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Little Rock office when he