Police ID victim in fatal shooting

Dover man, 83, carried rifle

The Arkansas State Police on Friday identified the man fatally shot during an altercation with law-enforcement officers as an 83-year-old Pope County resident.

Quinton Phillips of Dover died Thursday night at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Russellville, state police said.

The shooting happened about 3:10 p.m. Thursday after sheriff’s deputies and local officers responded to a call about a disturbance between Phillips and another person at 2213 Morgan Road in Dover, a town of 1,378 residents about 9 miles north of Russellville. State police said Phillips was holding a rifle and that sheriff’s deputies told him to drop it.

“Instead, he reportedly took cover behind a truck

and fired the gun at deputies,” state police said in a news release Friday.

“At least one deputy returned fire and struck the man,” the state police said in a previous release.

Ramona Woods, administrative assistant to Sheriff Shane Jones and the employee who handles media requests for the sheriff’s office, said Friday that a deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. She did not identify the deputy or answer other questions. No officers were injured. The sheriff’s office asked the state police to investigate — a routine request after an officer-involved shooting. The state police referred questions on any officer’s identity or job status to Pope County authorities.

Upon completion of an investigation, state police special agents will submit an investigative file to the prosecuting attorney’s office in Russellville for consideration to determine whether use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer was justified under state law.

Sadler said state law prevents the state police from discussing whether Phillips had a criminal record. No cases were immediately found with his name in an online court system, but that system is limited in its information.

Authorities did not immediately answer other questions about the nature of the original disturbance, such as whether it was a domestic argument. Nor did they answer a question about whether the other person was a relative.

Relatives of Phillips could not be located for comment by telephone Friday. Direc- tory assistance in Dover had only two listings for a Phillips, neither under his name. One of the numbers was disconnected, and no one returned a message left at the other number.

A woman answering the phone at Dover City Hall said she didn’t know anything about the matter and that the mayor was out of the office.