Arkansas town’s police chief arrested on aggravated assault charge
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An Arkansas town’s police chief is on the other side of the law after he was arrested Wednesday night, police say.
The West Memphis Police Department confirmed Thursday that Parkin Police Chief Robert Lee Thomas faces a charge of domestic violence aggravated assault. Parkin Mayor Diane Patterson told WREG that Thomas has been relieved of duty without pay.
They said it is believed the incident involved a female acquaintance.
Thursday, around 1:42 p.m., the victim told an officer she came home from work when she saw Thomas standing outside with a cup in his hand. She said she noticed he was intoxicated.
Police said the victim went inside the home while they were having a conversation, and moments later, Thomas got upset and started throwing her belongings outside.
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According to the police report, Thomas then got his gun, held it to the victim’s head, and threatened to kill her. When she pushed the gun away, he started choking her.
The victim told police she had to bite Thomas to get him to get off of her.
Police said afterwards, Thomas called his sister, and when she arrived at the home, he allegedly threatened to shoot her, kill his wife, and his dad.
When officers arrived at the scene, they took Thomas’ gun and arrested him.
Thomas bonded out of jail by 3:30 a.m., so we went to his West Memphis home to get his side of the story. We were also able to track down both women listed in the report as victims. Both victims told us they are okay.
Parkin, which has a population of less than 800, is in Cross County, Arkansas.
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