A police officer in England, Arkansas was arrested Tuesday after he was fired for allegedly fabricating a story about a shootout in which he claimed he was hit in his bulletproof vest.
Officials said that Officer David Houser filed a false report and fired the shot that hit his vest, according to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas State police said in a statement that on Oct. 24 the 50-year-old officer reported he was on patrol when he exchanged gunfire with a suspect who fled from him driving an SUV on Arkansas 15. Houser said he had been shot, but that the bullet didn't penetrate his vest.
An investigation found information contradictory to the officer's initial statement.
Houser surrendered to authorities early Tuesday and was released from the Lonoke County jail later that morning.
"It's every chief's worst nightmare to get a call that your officer has been shot or involved in a shooting," England Police Chief Nathan Cook told the newspaper. "To investigate and find out it's self-inflicted just puts a whole different spin on it."
Cook said police re-interviewed Houser Monday and he admitted that he had fabricated that whole thing.
An investigation by the state police is currently ongoing.
