3 Ark. Police Cruisers Destroyed in Suspected Arson

Sept. 13, 2023

Flames engulfed three Hughes police cruisers parked in the City Hall parking lot, destroying half of the department's fleet, and officials believe the fire was started intentionally.

Joe Vince

Arson is suspected after fire destroyed three Arkansas police cruisers early Tuesday.

The incident happened at about 12:30 a.m. when the Hughes police cruisers became engulfed in flames in the City Hall parking lot, WREG-TV reports. The department has only three cruisers left, and officials are hoping they can secure a donated "loaner" vehicle from another agency.

The Arkansas State Police and arson investigators are handling the case and were going through security camera footage from the parking lot. Chief Cortez Bowers expressed concerns that the destruction of the cruisers could be retaliation for a police crackdown on crime in the city.

“When you try to affect real change, you get push back like this, but we’re going to take it and we’re going to continue moving forward,” he said.

In 2019, the department was disbanded over personnel issues.

About the Author

Joe Vince

Joining Endeavor Business Media in 2018, Joe has worked on the company's city services publications. He began working at OFFICER.com as the assistant editor. Before starting at Endeavor, Joe had worked for a variety of print and online news outlets, including the Indianapolis Star, the South Bend Tribune, Reddit and Patch.com.