Long before Johnathan Kelley took a shot at Trumann's police chief last week, he made public threats to officers, according to police documents.
And yet when Kelley, a repeat offender living near Trumann, contacted Trumann Police Chief Chad Henson on Friday and asked the chief to follow him to his residence, Henson complied, acting Chief Jonathan Redman said.
According to a release from the Arkansas State Police, "Chief Henson approached the door of the residence and Kelley fired at Henson with a gun."
The state police report said Henson returned fire, killing Kelley.
Henson, who has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the results of the state police's investigation, was wearing a bullet-resistant vest at the time of the shooting and only had minor soreness and bruising, Redman said.
As with all police shootings, the investigation was immediately turned over to the state police, Redman said.
"Once it's over with and whatever happens, we're quite certain Chief Henson is going to be exonerated," Redman said.
Little information has been released concerning why Henson followed Kelley to his residence or whether Henson notified other officers of his whereabouts before following Kelley, but police documents show that Trumann officers were well aware of Kelley and of threats he reportedly made to city officials -- including Henson specifically.
In February of this year, according to a police report, Kelley walked into a business near Trumann and told the owner that he "was going to take the chief's badge and gun and if he couldn't do it the right way, he would just take them all."
The business owner reported the incident to police, telling officers that he was concerned that Kelley may act on his threats, and that Kelley had mentioned the City Council meeting later that day.
Officers arrested Kelley that day at his residence and charged him with disorderly conduct after he refused to open the door.
This arrest was far from Kelley's first encounter with police. Dispatch records show that the Trumann Police Department had received more than 30 calls from or about Kelley since 2015.
Arrest records show Kelley also had been arrested multiple times on various charges -- criminal trespass, contempt of court, burglary, multiple charges of narcotics possession -- but never a violent offense.
In one police report, officers on patrol saw Kelley digging in mud in the yard of a house that did not belong to him. Officers said they asked Kelley why he was digging, and he told them he was a "master plumber" and that he was trying to figure out why there was so much water puddled in this area. Officers told him the water was there because it had been raining for the past 15 hours.
In multiple reports, Kelley told officers he would have their jobs and that the Police Department picked on him.
Redman said he suspected Kelley's mental state had been somehow altered.
"He probably had mental issues and probably needed to get some help," Redman said. "That's the sad thing about this -- that a person with mental issues was able to obtain a gun. That's what we're looking at, the sadness of it."
Henson could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The Arkansas State Police said no more information concerning this incident will be released until the conclusion of the investigation.
Metro on 08/09/2018