2 Ark. police killed during traffic stop; 2 suspects later killed in shootout with authorities

Updated May 20, 2010

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) — Two Arkansas police officers were fatally shot Thursday during a traffic stop, and a short time later, two suspects were killed in a separate shootout in a crowded Wal-Mart parking lot, authorities said.

A local sheriff and chief deputy were wounded in the parking lot shootout and were taken to a hospital, authorities said.

The West Memphis police officers were killed after pulling over a white van with Ohio license plates on Interstate 40 Thursday afternoon, authorities said. One of the slain officers is the son the of the city's police department.

The suspects fled the scene in the van, and were later surrounded by authorities, some carrying assault rifles, who swarmed the parking lot that was packed with other cars. The suspects were killed in the shootout, and the Crittenden County sheriff and his deputy were wounded, authorities said.

One witness described the scene on Interstate 40 as "chaos." Stacy Gilchrist said she saw a police officer lying in the road when she pulled up.

"It was a disaster, cars were just going everywhere," Gilchrist told Memphis television station WMC.

It was not immediately clear why the police officers pulled over the van and details about the suspects were not immediately known.

Sheriff Richard Busby, who was shot in the arm, and Deputy W.A. Wren, who was shot in the abdomen, were taken to a local hospital, said Larry Godwin, the safety director in Memphis, Tenn. Busby's condition was not immediately known while Wren was in critical condition, a spokesman at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis said.

The two West Memphis police officers killed were Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans. Paudert is the son of West Memphis police chief Bob Paudert and was assigned to the police department's drug unit, Bob Paudert said.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said the killings were a reminder of the risks that police face.

"I have reached out to express my condolences to the entire West Memphis Police Department, including Sergeant Paudert's father, Chief Bob Paudert," Beebe said in a statement. "This is a loss shared by all Arkansans."

Outside the West Memphis Police Department station on Thursday, officers went in and out, some hugging each other as they passed.


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