An Arkansas state trooper has been placed on administrative leave after being involved in a shooting of a Pine Bluff suspect with active warrants in a homicide investigation.
Arkansas State Police say the shooting occurred at 10:50 a.m. Friday in Pine Bluff. The trooper had been at a training event held by the Pine Bluff Police Department when he was assisting officers attempting to apprehend the suspect, according to state police.
The trooper, whom state police did not identify, accompanied Pine Bluff officers responding to a call for assistance as the suspect, identified as Derrick D. Stidum, 19, of Pine Bluff, fled from officers in a stolen vehicle, according to a news release. Stidum reportedly lost control of the vehicle near the intersection of East 11th Avenue and Ohio Street. The trooper and other officers reportedly gave chase when Stidum and an unnamed passenger fled on foot.
Officers are said to have made contact with Stidum as he was running through the backyards of residences on Nebraska Street. State police say he was shot as he resisted being taken into custody.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Stidum was reportedly treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Jefferson Regional Medical Center before being taken into custody. He is charged with theft by receiving and fleeing and being held at the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Detention Center, with capital murder charges pending.
It was not immediately clear to which case Stidum is facing those charges. (An email seeking clarification was sent to state police public information officers.) Of the four open cases involving a Derrick Stidum, according to online court records, murder was not listed in either.