"There's no questionable actions here on anybody's part," Pike said.
The deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at a Havens Lane home about 1:24 a.m. Friday. Less than an hour later they received word the suspect was on his way back with a gun.
Bell and Martin followed the suspect, Michael Tindoll, into the residence and ordered him to drop his weapon. When he did not comply, they fired on him with less-lethal ammunition. He fired on the deputies and hit both of them with shotgun pellets. Bell returned fire, hitting Tindoll in the side.
Tindoll started down a hallway towards a bedroom, when he was shot in the chest by a resident of the house.
Lt. Jack Pike's assertion that 'there is no questionable actions here' is a bit premature considering the investigation is still underway. We cannot help but wonder in this situation, a suspect refusing to drop his gun with potential hostages in a room just down the hall, why the deputies chose to use 'less-lethal ammunition'. It just doesn’t make sense and it put people’s lives in danger.
Another oddity about this story is KARK News 4’s report where a witness, Jon Noble, gives a conflicting account of this incident,
Neighbors said they heard it all.
"Then the cops voices got a little louder. Put the gun down! Don't do it Chris! Then I heard a boom. Then I heard their guns, pop, pop. Then I heard him again and I called 911 and they didn't even know there was gun fire going on yet," explained Jon Noble, neighbor.
If this account were accurate it would seem that Tindoll fired first which actually would make more sense but is in direct contradiction to what has been reported. Debra Hale-Shelton of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette confirms this in her story and adds,
Bell and Martin responded to a disturbance call at the house. By the
time they got there, Tindoll, who reportedly had broken into the home and
had a physical altercation with Sides, had gone to another residence to get
his 12-gauge shotgun. A person at that house called Sides’ girlfriend and
warned her that Tindoll was on his way back; she in turn notified the sheriff’s
office. Bell and Martin noticed Tindoll driving toward the house and followed
him.
”He jumped out and ran in the house, and they [the deputies] ran after
him,” Pike said.
At that point, Pike said, Tindoll fired his shotgun once, striking both
officers in the side. Bell returned fire with his service revolver, striking
Tindoll in the side, Pike said.
”The suspect turned and started back down the hall toward the girlfriend’s
room,” but Sides shot Tindoll in the chest. Tindoll was pronounced dead at
the scene.
Sides was not arrested, Pike said, because “he didn’t do anything wrong.”
”Mr. Sides did exactly what he should have done. ... He, along with our
officers, potentially saved the lives of other people in that house.”
We believe there are quite a few unanswered questions that need to be resolved before we commend these officers like why didn’t they stop Tindoll before he arrive back at his girlfriend’s house? After all at this point he was a possibly armed man who was reported to have broke into a residence about 30 mins before. Another questionable act would be the use of “the less-lethal” ammunition when people’s lives hang in the balance.
Things simply don’t make sense in this story but in typical ‘move along, nothing to see here’ form Lt. Pike says there were no questionable acts done by anyone. Yep, that’s who we need as sheriff, someone who will continue on in the fine traditions of our current one. One who advocates brandishing weapons and taking care of problems ourselves.
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