Alexander cop arrested; details released in shooting death of fellow officer
Alexander Police Officer Calvin Salyers, 33, surrendered to the Arkansas State Police Wednesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest following the shooting death of fellow Alexander Officer Scott Hutton.
The incident occurred June 3 at Salyers’ residence.
According to court documents filed Wednesday at the Saline County Courthouse, Hutton drove to Salyer’s residence to pick up a patrol unit that was parked inside a metal building next door.
At 7:09 p.m., Hutton attempted to call Salyers’ personal phone, but received no answer.
Seconds later, he sent a text to Salyers asked if he was awake.
Following no answer via text, Hutton pulled into Salyers’ driveway, walked onto the porch and knocked on the door.
Court documents state Salyers and his girlfriend, Ashlee Cummings, were lying on the couch watching a movie.
Records also state that when they heard the knock, “Salyers told Cummings that he would see who it was and grabbed his Glock .40-caliber handgun and went to the door.”
According to Salyers’ statement to officers, he looked through the peep hole and saw a figure standing on his porch with a dark shirt and a gun on his hip. Salyers stated that he transferred his weapon from his right hand into his left and reached for the door knob and as he opened the door, the gun went off and fired a round through the front door.
“As Salyers opened the door, Hutton fell off the porch,” records state.
According to Salyers statement, he realized it was Hutton only after he fell from the porch.
At 7:12 p.m., a call was placed to 911 from Cummings’ phone. Salyers identified himself as an Alexander police officer after authorities were alerted of the shooting.
Salyers also told dispatchers that it was Hutton who had been shot and that, “All I seen was a gun, it was an accidental discharge,” according to records.
A search warrant for the home revealed a single bullet hole in the front door near the peep hole. The bullet appeared to have traveled from inside the residence, through the main door and then through the glass storm door.
A Glock .40-caliber handgun with a pistol light was found on the floor, just inside the door threshold.
According to records, the most significant findings related to the bullet hole was, “there was evidence of close contact. The bullet hole appeared to have contact residue, which indicated the weapon was pressed against the door when fired. Powder burns and a C-shape ring of residue were left around the hole.
“There was a clear indention where the pistol light, which was attached to the bottom of the barrel, marked the door as it was being fired. This indicated Salyers was holding the gun in his left hand when the shot was fired.”
Records continued, stating the bullet traveled through the door and struck Hutton in the upper right chest, traveled across his body, entered and exited the heart and then wedged under the skin on his left side.
“Based on Hutton’s injury, it was likely he was standing at an angle and not squarely facing the door,” records state.
Court documents also note that Salyers tried to administer aid to Hutton, who was wearing a black Polo-type shirt, khaki tactical pants and had a typical police-style gun belt with a badge positioned next to his holstered firearm.
According to a statement from Alexander Training Sgt. Matt Wharton, Salyers allegedly told him if any protestors came to his residence he would “shoot through the door.” Wharton said Salyers made the statement at the time rioters and protesters were making headlines in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers.
Wharton added in his statement that he told Salyers he could not simply do that because it was reckless and negligent. He also stated that (police) could not shoot anyone without identifying them first and identifying that there was a threat.
In the case file presented to Saline County Attorney Chris Walton and Chief Deputy Rebecca Bush, it states that Salyers “acted recklessly on the night of June 3, which resulted in the a firearm being discharged through the door of his residence which struck Alexander Police Officer Scott Hutton in the chest, causing his death.”
According to ASP,
Salyers has been charged with manslaughter, a class C felony, and was booked into the Saline County Detention Center on Wednesday before posting a $15,000 bond.
According to the Alexander Police Department, Salyers was terminated Thursday morning.