Jonesboro officer cleared in shooting

A Jonesboro police officer who earlier this month shot and killed a man resisting arrest and reaching for the officer’s gun acted reasonably and will face no charges, Arkansas State Police announced in a Tuesday news release.

Officer Zachary Hobbs acted within the law Jan. 9 when he shot and killed Joseph McCrackin Jr. while McCrackin was attacking him and trying to get his gun, a letter from Sonia Hagood, Second Judicial District prosecutor, to a state police investigator states.

State police, who investigate many police shootings, gathered facts about the incident before presenting the file to Hagood, who was tasked with determining whether Hobbs’ use of force followed state law.

“Here, the suspect continued to use violent physical force on Officer Hobbs with no indication that he would stop until the officer was incapacitated or deceased,” Hagood wrote in the letter, dated Friday. “Additionally, the suspect reached for Ofc. Hobbs’ service weapon during the violent encounter. Ofc. Hobbs acted reasonably and was justified in using deadly physical force.”

Hobbs was the first to respond to a report of a domestic disturbance between McCrackin and his father at a residence in the 1100 block of West Jefferson Street. The caller reported that the younger McCrackin had a knife and a history of violence.

McCrackin pulled away after Hobbs placed cuffs on one of his wrists, Hagood writes, and was able to get Hobbs on the ground and punch the officer in the face. It wasn’t clear from Hagood’s letter or the state police news release what happened to the knife the caller reported.

When McCrackin started to reach for Hobbs’ pistol, the letter states, Hobbs was able to draw the weapon first and fired four times, fatally wounding McCrackin. He died at the scene, the state police news release states.