9 officers in deadly shooting receive OK to return to work

Nine of 10 officers placed on paid administrative leave after they returned fire and killed a 37-year-old man who had barricaded himself inside a northeast Arkansas home have been cleared to return to duty, authorities said.

SWAT team officers with the Jonesboro Police Department on June 5 shot and killed Jay Michael Clem outside a mobile home in the 3100 block of Barnhill Road. Clem reportedly shot his 67-yearold mother in the lower back and pointed a gun at other people in the trailer home before engaging police in a 4-hour standoff, according to a statement by the department.

Authorities said Clem emerged from the house and fired multiple times at officers, who returned fire, fatally wounding him. Those officers were placed on paid administrative leave, a department spokesman said.

On June 10, the department released edited footage of the shooting.

All 10 SWAT team officers have since been cleared of criminal charges by 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington who reviewed the initial investigation by Arkansas State Police.

In a June 13 letter to the Arkansas State Police, Ellington said the officers “were reasonable in believing that their life as well as the lives of their fellow officers were in danger when they discharged their service weapons.”

The officer who hasn’t yet been cleared for duty was on a previously scheduled vacation, according to the department. Detective Brian Arnold will be subject to an internal investigation and undergo a mental evaluation when he returns.