Arkansas State Police: Officer shoots man in incident on Interstate 49 in Rogers

ROGERS – A Guatemalan man was shot and killed by an Arkansas State Trooper during an incident in Rogers on Saturday, according to a news release from the Arkansas State Police.

Angel Zapet-Alvarado, 26, of Guatemala, is charged with second-degree assault in connection with the incident; additional charges are pending, according to a state police news release.

The trooper, whose name has not been released, stopped Zapet-Alvarado’s vehicle around 7:43 p.m. Saturday after observing it traveling at a high rate of speed in heavy traffic southbound on Interstate 49 near the 80-mile marker, the news release said.

Zapet-Alvarado refused to exit the vehicle and resisted the officer’s efforts to get him out, the release said. The officer attempted to hit Zapet-Alvarado with her stun gun, but he snatched the weapon from her and threw it into the street, the release said.

A 31-year-old woman who was traveling on the highway witnessed the altercation, stopped her vehicle and tried to help the police officer, the press release said.

The police officer then fired a shot from her weapon at Zapet-Alvarado, wounding him in the right temple, the press release said.

Zapet-Alvarado was taken to Mercy Hospital in Rogers, where he was treated before being turned over to law enforcement, the release said. He was taken to the Benton County Jail.

The police officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the press release said.

The state police criminal investigation department is investigating the incident.

An investigative file will be presented to the district attorney to determine whether the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law, the press release said.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was informed of the incident and praised the police officer and the driver who helped.

“These two women who put their lives on the line to keep their communities safe are heroes, and thanks to their quick, courageous actions, a criminal illegal immigrant is in custody and off the streets,” Sanders said.

The governor also took the opportunity to place some of the blame on President Joe Biden’s administration.

“Even though they deny it and the media covers it up, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have caused the worst border crisis in history and they must be held accountable,” Sanders said.

Col. Mike Hagar, Arkansas’s Secretary of Public Safety and Director of the State Police, also praised the police officer and the driver who intervened, but expressed concern that the suspect was an undocumented immigrant.

“I feel the same fear and frustration when someone attacks one of our police officers, but it is even more disturbing that this suspect is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who is undocumented,” Hagar said. “This shows another level of lawlessness that will not be tolerated in our state.”