ASP: Man kills himself during pursuit

LITTLE ROCK, AR - State Police say a man took his own life during a pursuit through Van Buren County Tuesday following a traffic stop.

According to a release from the Arkansas State Police, 24-year-old Devin Pearson was pulled over by a trooper around 2pm on U.S. Highway 65 near Bee Branch. The trooper says Pearson refused to get out of his truck and drove off when the trooper tried to open the door.

The trooper was knocked to the ground but was not injured.

The release says that Van Buren County sheriff’s deputies and Drug Task Force officers caught-up with Pearson who was driving southbound along U.S. 65 toward Damascus. During the pursuit Pearson reportedly fired a handgun at the officers and at least one deputy returned gunfire, striking Pearson’s truck.

Witnesses reported that as officers pulled up alongside the truck, Pearson used the gun to take his own life.

Pearson was taken to the Ozark Medical Center in Clinton where he was pronounced dead.