Sandy MaloneMaumelle, AR – An Arkansas corrections K9 sergeant was fatally shot on Monday morning while he was a assisting a team from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office who were shot at while conducting a welfare check.
Pulaski County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Cody Burk said the incident began on Feb. 28 when deputies responded to a residence on Corvallis Road to check on a woman who had reportedly not shown up for work, KTHV reported.
Lt. Burk said that when the deputies arrived at the home, somebody fired shots at them, KATV reported.
The SWAT team was called in to assist, but when SWAT officers made entry to the home, there was no one inside.
The sheriff’s department said that was when the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) tracking dogs were called in to assist in the search for the missing woman and the gunman, KATV reported.
Lt. Burk said the dogs tracked the suspect – identified by officials as 37-year-old Demark Lee Jordan – to underneath a trailer on Overstreet Road near the Kum and Go convenience store.
Deputies said the gunman began firing at them from his position underneath the trailer.
A sergeant with the K9 tracking team was struck by gunfire, KATV reported.
The wounded hero was transported to the hospital where he later died.
Officials have not yet publicly identified the fallen sergeant, KATV reported.
The woman who was the subject of the initial welfare check was eventually found unharmed.
Lt. Burk said that Jordan fled the area after shooting the K9 sergeant, KTHV reported.
If you have any information regarding the investigation contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 501-340-6963 or anonymously call the Pulaski County Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 501-340-8477. You may also submit a tip online at https://t.co/r10xClXra8 #PCSONEWS pic.twitter.com/5czKceLDkJ
— Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office (@SheriffPulaski) February 28, 2022
A multi-agency manhunt is underway, according to KATV.
BREAKING: .@ATFNewOrleans Special Agents are on-scene and assisting with investigation of a shooting of an Arkansas DOC officer during a manhunt near Maumelle, AR this morning. Follow our partner .@SheriffPulaski for updates. pic.twitter.com/UP07tdTmKT
— ATF New Orleans (@ATFNewOrleans) February 28, 2022
Authorities said Jordan has brown eyes, black hair, is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs about 145 pounds, and is believed to be driving a grey 2012 GMC Sierra with Arkansas license plate 345-YNJ.
A Arkansas Department of Corrections K9 Sergeant injured in a shooting related to the SWAT operation and manhunt in Pulaski County has died. #ARnews
— Arkansas Post (@arkansas_post) February 28, 2022
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Holly Matkin
