LRPD officer relieved of duty after holding gun to unarmed man's head during arrest
By: -----
Little Rock, AR - A Little Rock police officer has been relieved of duty pending an internal investigation after video showed him holding a gun to the head of an unarmed man during an arrest.
The incident, which was not fully described in the police report documenting the arrest, happened Aug. 9 when Little Rock Police Department officers detained 23-year-old Gregory Williams at a gas station on South University Avenue.
According to the police report, officers were dispatched after a caller reported that a customer had threatened to shoot a store clerk following an argument over a sale.
When officers arrived, they found Williams arguing with the clerk and took him into custody in what the report described as a “felony takedown.”
Body camera footage obtained by KATV shows Officer Thomas Shook holding a gun to Williams' head as officers took him into custody. When Shook drew his weapon, Williams was unarmed and lying face down on the floor as multiple officers surrounded him.
The police report does not mention an officer placing a firearm against Williams' head or otherwise describe the specific actions taken during the takedown. Instead, it states only that officers “took the suspect into custody with a felony take down.”
“Why you have a gun at my head?” Williams can be heard yelling in the video.
Officers searched Williams and his backpack but found no firearms or other weapons, according to the report.
The store clerk told officers that Williams had threatened to shoot him following an argument over fish. Williams denied making any threats.
The clerk later told officers he did not wish to press charges.
MEMS responded to evaluate Williams for a possible heat-related illness and cleared him at the scene. Police later transported Williams to his apartment, and the report states that no further action was taken.
Little Rock police officials confirmed that Shook has been relieved of duty while the department conducts an internal investigation.