Two police officers in West Memphis, Arkansas were shot and killed during a traffic stop on May 20, 2010. Police identified and killed two suspects, identified as Jerry Kane, Jr., and his son, Joseph Kane. The two were later identified as members of the sovereign citizen movement. Footage of the shooting and ensuing shootout with police was shown in a season 5 episode of World's Wildest Police Videos.
Details
Around 11:36 a.m. CDT, West Memphis police officer Bill Evans initiated a traffic stop on a white Plymouth Voyager minivan that was travelling on Interstate 40 eastbound toward Airport Road. According to a spokesperson for the Arkansas State Police, Officer Evans was "running drug interdiction", and the vehicle had license plates from Ohio. Sergeant Brandon Paudert provided backup for Evans. Upon Paudert's arrival at the scene, Evans attempted to frisk Jerry Kane. Suddenly, Kane turned and attacked Evans in a scuffle down an embankment into a ditch. At that moment, Joe Kane emerged from the passenger door of the van and opened fire with an AK-47 variant. Paudert ran to the rear of Evans' police cruiser and returned fire with three shots from his.40-caliber Glock 22 handgun through the windows and taillight of Evans' cruiser, in an attempt to hit Kane firing from the other side. He then took cover behind the hood of his cruiser which was parked directly behind Evans' cruiser. Paudert fired four more times at Kane, but missed. Kane then fired multiple shots from his AK-47 variant through the hood of the car, striking Paudert in the head with a ricochet. Both officers were fatally wounded; Paudert, 39, died at the scene, and Evans, 38, died at the hospital. The suspects returned to their van and sped away. Vincent Brown, a FedEx driver from Houston, witnessed the shooting and called 911; neither officer could make an "officer down" call. Approximately 2 hours after the incident, Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and Chief Enforcement Officer W. A. Wren stopped a minivan believed to be the suspects' at a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Officers Busby and Wren were wounded in gunfire exchanged with the suspects and were later hospitalized in critical condition. Wildlife Officer Michael K. Neal, responding to the brief standoff, rammed the suspect's vehicle, preventing their escape and saving the lives of Busby and Wren. Officer Neal exchanged fire with the Kanes through his windshield using his patrol rifle. Dozens of officers then surrounded the van, and the Kanes were shot to death. For his heroics, Officer Neal was awarded Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the NRA.
Perpetrators
Jerry Kane ran a debt evasion business, traveling the country speaking on methods of "forestalling foreclosures", lecturing that money and home loans are fictitious, and that people could simply sign a quitclaim deed and live in their houses mortgage-free. In 2006, he was indicted for forgery and theft of a car by deception in Montgomery County, Ohio, and there was an outstanding warrant at the time of his death. He had said that driver's licences were a "debt contract", and a month before the shooting, Kane was arrested in New Mexico for driving without a license. On an internet radio show, Kane said he was picked up at a "Nazi checkpoint", spent 47 hours in custody, and planned to sue for $100 per hour of custody. In fact, he was released on $1,500 bond and did not appear for his court date three days before the shooting. The day after the shootings, Arkansas State Police identified the suspects as 45-year-old Jerry R. Kane, Jr., and his 16-year-old son Joseph T. Kane. Based on a 2004 conversation with Jerry Kane, Clark County SheriffGene Kelly had expressed concern that Kane would pose a dangerous threat to law enforcement officers. According to Kelly, Kane had complained about being "enslaved" by a judge who had sentenced him to serve six days of community service for driving with an expired license plate and no seat belt. According to a New York Times article on the incident, Joseph Kane was home schooled and by age 9, could recite the Bill of Rights and carried a toy gun everywhere he went. According to Sheriff Kelly "the child had been taught not to trust law enforcement."
Aftermath
According to the autopsy, officers and eyewitnesses testimony, Officer Evans was shot eight times in the chest, back, and arms. Sgt. Paudert was shot fourteen times in the head, arms, legs, both hands and shoulders. Joseph Kane was shot multiple times in the chest, head, back, and arms by Officer Neal. Jerry Kane Jr. was hit multiple times in the back, arms, and legs by Officer Neal. However, as the officers approached the van, the wounded Jerry Kane tried to fire his AK-47. Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Darrell Prewitt fired three shots into the van, hitting Kane Jr. in the neck and severing his spinal cord, ending the gunfire. Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby was hit once in the left shoulder. Chief Enforcement Officer W. A. Wren was hit multiple times in the abdomen.
