This past Friday Sgt. Jason Bell and Deputy Wesley Martin responded to a call about a man with a gun at a residence south of Conway. At 1:55 a.m. the officers spotted Michael Tindoll, 27, of Conway, and followed him into the home of Melissa Weber, his ex-girlfriend, and John Sides Jr.
Log Cabin reporter Rachel Parker gives us the details according to Lt. Jack Pike, spokesman for the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office.
About 1:55 a.m., the officers spotted Tindoll and followed him to the home.
They followed him into the home and commanded him several times to put down his weapon, but he did not comply, Pike said.
The deputies fired two less-lethal rounds that hit Tindoll in the torso, but he still did not drop the shotgun, Pike said. Instead, he allegedly fired one shotgun blast, hitting both deputies with pellets. Bell returned fire, hitting Tindoll in the side.
Tindoll turned and started down the hall toward Weber's bedroom. Sides, who was in the bedroom, fired one shot from his own gun, hitting Tindoll in the chest, Pike said.
Three small children, ages two to four years old, were in the home during the domestic disturbance. One slept the whole time, Pike said.
It cannot be easy for an officer to have to shoot a suspect, especially one who was obviously distraught but in this case it appears that is was necessary. The two deputies involved do deserve our respect for putting their lives on the line and answering the call to duty.
However the deputies failed to protect the victims and owe a great deal of thanks to Mr Sides for doing what they were there to do. If he hadn't shot Tindoll we could have been reading the deaths of three children and two adults.
Pike's statement about the use of "less than lethal rounds" sort of implies it was done intentionally. If that was the case then it was a serious mistake. In real life it doesn't make sense to shoot a man with a gun in the arm or anywhere else that will give him an opportunity to return fire. Pike probably meant they missed when they failed to drop Tindoll with their first shots.
Back in the summer I had a talk with candidate for sheriff Karl Byrd who stressed the need for more training for the patrol officers because they are our front line of defense as well as the first link in the chain of prosecuting crimes. We could not agree more with candidate Byrd and this incident would seems to confirm his statement. Pike on the other hand acts as if we should be holding a parade for the 2 deputies.
…"We applaud their bravery, and their quick action no doubt resulted in saving the residents of the home," he said.
The officers will be off duty pending an investigation into the shooting. Pike said the sheriff's office has no reason to believe there was a violation of policy or misconduct on behalf of the officers…
For our sake we hope that these officers would learn from this and if something like this should happen again they would handle it differently. We wish these deputies a speedy recovery. . .
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