Fort Smith Police Officer Kyle Newman. Official Fort Smith Police Department photo.
Hey Fort Smith — there's a meaningful new development in one of the biggest public-safety stories our city has dealt with this year.
The Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has determined that four Fort Smith police officers were legally justified in using deadly force during the May 17 shooting that critically wounded Officer Kyle Newman and ended with the death of 27-year-old Joshua Keller.
The officers identified in the prosecutor's determination are Newman and Officers Billy Marts, Dawson Tabor and Ryan Grayham.
That decision comes after an Arkansas State Police investigation into the officers' use of deadly force.
The investigation was eventually forwarded to the Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for legal review.
That review has now been completed.
The prosecutor concluded the officers' actions were justified under the law.
For people who followed this story back in May, that's the major unanswered legal question we've been waiting on.
The incident happened during the early morning hours of May 17 near the amphitheater off McClure Drive in Fort Smith.
According to information released by Fort Smith Police afterward, officers were dealing with a group of juveniles in the area when a white pickup truck drove into a nearby ditch.
Officer Newman approached the vehicle and began what police described as a driving-while-intoxicated investigation involving Keller.
Police said the encounter turned violent when Keller allegedly produced a handgun and shot Newman in the neck while trying to get away.
Despite suffering what would initially be considered a life-threatening injury, Newman returned fire.
Another officer at the scene responded to the gunfire, radioed for help and began rendering aid to Newman as other officers moved into the area.
Police said Keller fled in the pickup truck and a pursuit followed onto Interstate 540.
The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed near the Grand Avenue exit.
According to police, another officer-involved shooting occurred as officers approached the crashed vehicle.
Keller was pronounced dead at the scene.
Because police officers used deadly force, Arkansas State Police handled that portion of the investigation.
Fort Smith Police separately investigated the shooting that critically injured Newman.
The state investigation was later submitted to the Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, which had to determine whether the officers' actions violated Arkansas criminal law.
The prosecutor has now answered that question.
The four officers were determined to have been legally justified in their use of deadly force.
In practical terms, criminal charges against the officers are not being pursued based on the shooting.
That's an important distinction because this wasn't simply the Fort Smith Police Department investigating itself and deciding its officers did nothing wrong.
Arkansas State Police conducted the deadly-force investigation.
The Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office then reviewed that investigation and made the legal determination.
The case drew intense attention around Fort Smith because Newman initially wasn't expected to have an easy recovery.
He had been shot in the neck and was airlifted to a trauma center in critical condition.
For days, the question around town wasn't about legal findings or investigations.
It was whether he was going to survive.
Newman eventually improved enough to leave intensive care, move into rehabilitation and return home on June 10.
Later that month, he returned to Fort Smith Police headquarters for the first time since the shooting and received the department's Medal of Valor and Purple Heart.
Fort Smith later recognized July 21 as Officer Kyle Newman Day.
This week's prosecutor decision is different from those recovery updates.
It's the legal conclusion to the deadly-force investigation.
And on a story this serious, wording matters.
The prosecutor's determination addresses whether the officers' use of deadly force was legally justified.
It doesn't mean every unanswered question or emotion surrounding that morning suddenly disappears.
A man died.
An officer nearly died.
Families, officers and other people involved were affected in ways that continue long after a police investigation ends.
Fort Smith Police acknowledged that reality after the decision, recognizing both the responsibility officers carry when using deadly force and the loss experienced by Keller's family and friends.
Hey Fort Smith — here's the simple version:
We already knew what police said happened on May 17.
We already knew Officer Newman survived and continued recovering.
What we didn't have was the final legal review of the officers' use of deadly force.
Now we do.
The Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office concluded that Newman, Marts, Tabor and Grayham acted within the law.
Community takeaway: The Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has completed its review of the May 17 officer-involved shooting in Fort Smith and determined that four Fort Smith police officers were legally justified in using deadly force. The decision follows an Arkansas State Police investigation into the incident, which critically injured Officer Kyle Newman and resulted in the death of Joshua Keller. This ruling closes the major criminal-law review of the officers' actions stemming from the May shooting.
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Sources: Southwest Times Record — prosecutor finds Fort Smith officers justified · Fort Smith Police Department — original May 17 shooting update · Fort Smith Police Department — Officer Newman returns home
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