Arkansas cop who threatened protesters charged with fatally shooting fellow officer
Calvin Salyers surrendered to special agents in the death of Scott Hutton
The same Arkansas cop who threatened protestors, has now been charged with felony manslaughter after the shooting death of another law enforcement official.
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According to The Arkansas State Police, Calvin Salyers, 33, surrendered to special agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division on July 8, on charges relating to the fatal shooting of Scott Hutton. The incident occurred on June 3, and after an investigation, the prosecuting attorney found criminal charges valid.
The victim, 36-year-old Hutton, was shot through the door of Salyers’ home, reports Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Hutton did not survive the gunshot wounds to the chest.
“Everybody who was present was questioned. Everybody who may have had any knowledge that led up to that one hour before, two hours before, this officer went to that residence,” says Bill Sadler, spokesman of the Saline County prosecutor’s office to Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
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Arkansas Democrat Gazette further reports shooting through the door of his home is, however, exactly how he promised to shoot protesters should they arrive on his doorstep. Alexander Training Sgt. Matt Wharton told investigators that just after the death of George Floyd, provoked nationwide protest and disruption, Salyers threatened to “shoot through the door.”
The Alexander Police Department allegedly took his statements seriously, with Wharton claiming to have told Salyers firing through a door is “reckless and negligent” according to Arkansas Online.
An affidavit obtained by Kiro7 states Salyers recklessly caused the death of another person. Investigators say he claims to have misfired, accidentally shooting his bother in blue. The official document says Sutton called and sent a text message to his fellow officer before arriving at his residence to pick-up a vehicle.
Hutton knocked on Salyers door who claims to have looked through the peephole and seen an unidentifiable person with wearing a dark shirt and a gun on his hip reports Kiro7.
“Salyers stated that he transferred his weapon from his right hand into his left hand and reached for the door knob and, as he opened the door, the gun went off, firing a round through the front door,” writes Special Agent Ryan Jacks in the affidavit.
The report continues, “The most significant findings related to the bullet hole was there was evidence of close contact.”
According to his obituary, Hutton is survived by a wife of five years, and being a police officer was his dream job.
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