Prosecutor finds that use of deadly force in Cotton Plant officer-involved shooting was justified

COTTON PLANT, Ark. – Prosecutors have ruled that the use of deadly force was justified in an officer-involved shooting that happened in March.

Arkansas State Police officials said the First Judicial Deputy Prosecuting Attorney’s Office concluded that the use of deadly force by a Cotton Plant Police Department officer was justified in the incident.

On March 24, state police said the Cotton Plant Police Department responded to a shooting in the 300 block of Rush Street around 6:30 p.m.

During the incident, state police said 21-year-old Michael Crenshaw of Missouri shot a man and fled the scene.

Authorities said Crenshaw was later found walking north on Main Street by a CPPD officer. The man who was shot then arrived on Main Street and police said there was a confrontation between the two before Crenshaw held a weapon to the man’s head.

Police said a CPPD officer then fired at Crenshaw and hit him.