Recent police shootings not a trend analyst says

LITTLE ROCK, AR - A UALR professor who works in criminal justice says four fatal police shootings in Little Rock this year so far does not mean a trend of increased police shootings is developing.

Officers with LRPD shot and killed and two suspects in a 36-hour stretch over the weekend.  The first involved a domestic dispute and a man who exited a home holding a gun according to a police report.

The second shooting involved a 15-year old juvenile suspected of stealing cars in a west Little Rock apartment complex.  According to officer Josh Hastings, the juvenile got behind the wheel of a Honda Civic and headed towards him.  The officer fired at the car, striking and killing Bobby Moore family members say.

Jeffrey Walker with UALR studies use of force incidents involving officers with LRPD.

"LRPD is a culture of shooting only if you have to," Walker says.

So far 2012 has seen 4 fatal officer shootings.  That's more than 2010 & 2011 combined that saw only two during that time.

"It's strange timing, that's really all that it is," Walker says.  "If an officer is trying to make an arrest and someone is trying to run them over then they are authorized to use deadly force."

LRPD shot and killed Antonio Clark, 31, in his home on South Tyler Street in January after raiding his home on a drug search warrant.  Clark was shot after confronting officers holding an AK-47 rifle.

Charles Murry, 19, was shot and killed in the 300 block of Thayer on May 22 after killing a man and injuring another.  According to LRPD, Murry broke into a home in the Stift Station / Capitol View neighborhood and then shot two men as they tried to interrupt him.

Officers in both the January and May shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing, the shootings determined to be justified by the Pulaski County prosecutor's office.