Sherwood officer cleared in shooting

No policy violated in low-speed chase, driver’s wounding, department says

A Sherwood police officer who shot a man during a low-speed chase in December has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the case, the Pulaski County prosecutor’s office said.

Officer Todd Abbott shot Jose Louis Burgos, 26, after Abbott and other officers responded to a domestic disturbance at Whitewood Drive and East Woodruff Avenue the morning of Dec. 21. Police said Burgos fled in a vehicle through a housing subdivision and officers followed him onto a dead-end street.

Abbott tried to pull Burgos out of the vehicle, but Burgos continued driving and struck the officer and the officer’s vehicle, police reported. That’s when Abbott reportedly fired once into the windshield and struck Burgos in the chest.

Burgos, who was last known to reside in Little Rock, survived the shooting and was charged with felony counts of fleeing, aggravated assault and third-degree domestic battery. He negotiated a guilty plea to those charges in May and was sentenced to six years of probation.

Pulaski County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Johnson said last week that his office had reviewed the case and determined the shooting was justified.

Johnson said Abbott acted within his rights and will not face charges.

“We expect law enforcement to investigate it like [any other case] and we treat it like any other case, regardless of who the suspect is … We look at the facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting and make that determination,” Johnson said.

Sherwood police spokesman Sgt. John Murphy said last week that Abbott, who suffered minor injuries in the encounter, had returned to duty.

Murphy said investigators found no violations of the department’s pursuit policy, which bans officers

from chasing a person suspected of a nonviolent felony or misdemeanor offense if that person’s identity is known.

The policy also prohibits officers from chasing someone if it creates a “clear and unreasonable danger.”

Police said officers’ pursuit of Burgos, which occurred in a residential area north of East Kiehl Avenue, was lowspeed and did not “put anybody

at risk.”

Murphy said police also determined there were no violations of the department’s use-of-force policy in the shooting.

The policy states that officers may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it will prevent serious injury to themselves or others. Officers are permitted to shoot at moving vehicles under the policy.

Police said the shooting was the first involving Abbott, a four-year veteran of the department.