Person of Interest in Fatal Shooting of Ark. Corrections Officer in Custody
Source Officer.com News
A person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of an Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) officer has been taken into custody.
Pulaski County sheriff's deputies located Denmark Lee Jordan, 37, at around 6 a.m. Tuesday, KARK-TV reports. Authorities were searching for him after Sgt. Joshua Caudell was shot and killed during a welfare check late Sunday.
Caudell, 27, was part of a K-9 tracking unit that was called in when shots were fired while deputies were checking the home of a woman who hadn't been to work. A search by the K-9 team and a SWAT unit following the gunfire led to a trailer, where shots were fired again.
Caudell was struck by the gunfire, and he was taken to hospital. He died hours later.
"We not only lost an officer, we lost a brother and friend," said Dexter Payne, the director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Caudell had been with the department since December 2012, and he served in the Tucker K-9 Unit, according to an ADC news release. He also had worked at the Cummins Unit, Maximum Security Unit, Varner/Varner Super Max Unit and the Pine Bluff Unit.
“The entire Department of Corrections mourns the loss of a dedicated officer,” said Corrections Secretary Solomon Graves. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time.”
Caudell is survived by his wife and three children.
