Arkansas Blog: Malvern mystery UPDATE

Was a Malvern police officer really shot last Friday by an illegal hunter he encountered, as has been reported? A Dallas executive involved in a legal dispute with the officer is seemingly wagering a huge reward against the possibility of an arrest.

Thanks to a commenter on the blog for a tip on the continuing mystery surrounding the shooting of a yet-to-be-identified Malvern cop and the equally mysterious $500,000 reward put up by Joe Beard, president of Dallas-based Westdale Asset Management, for the capture of the officer's assailant -- a man described by the officer as a 6- foot-2 to 6-foot-4-inch hunter with a scraggly, full beard. The officer reported that he came across the man bowhunting illegally before 1 a.m. last Friday. When he tried to cuff the hunter, the officer told investigators, a struggle ensued. The officer reportedly broke a four-inch knife off in the attacker's chest after the hunter took his service weapon and shot him. An extensive search that included tracking dogs has found no sign of the assailant.

The aforementioned tip led us to the Hot Spring County circuit clerk's office, where a little phone time revealed a lawsuit filed April 4 by Beard and his wife Sherry against Brian and Holly Johnson of Malvern. While Joe Beard wasn't forthcoming about the suit when we reached him at his office in Dallas, he did say that the Brian Johnson named in the lawsuit is the Malvern police officer shot by that mysterious hunter (a spokesman for the Malvern police refused to confirm or deny that information). Beard also confirmed that Johnson is married to Sherry Beard's niece.

In the lawsuit, obtained by the Arkansas Times this afternoon, the Beards claim that they wrote checks to Brian and Holly Johnson or their creditors totaling just under $32,000 in July and August of 2007. The Beards claim they were never paid back. In a separate affidavit, Joe Beard calls the money "advances," though the lawsuit never states exactly what the money was to be used for.

All this -- a $500,000 reward, put up by someone who less than a month before had filed a civil lawsuit against the officer; a mysterious assailant fitting the vague description of Bigfoot, who disappeared so wholly that dogs couldn't even track him -- brings skeptical minds to an obvious theory: That Beard is willing to risk a half million dollars (he’s a man of means; his company is a huge apartment developer) because he doesn't believe there’s any risk he’ll have to pay it. To believe that, the theory continues, he must also believe there is no assailant.

Bluntly asked that very question more than once, Beard would only repeat that he found the officer's story to be "incredible," and wants justice done. His collective comments, however, suggest that he believes there was never an encounter in the Malvern woods.

"The $500,000 is an amount that everybody is going to look at and realize that, if there is a person out there, this is going to bring that person to justice," Beard said. "I was afraid earlier in the week that this was just going to go away and there wouldn't be anything else said about it... Let's ask the questions. Where is this guy? He didn't come from New Orleans to go hunting up in Malvern. He had to be a local individual, if he exists."

Beard said that he had called the Arkansas State Police on Monday, and was told that the Malvern police had declined ASP offers of assistance in the investigation. He also noted the lack of physical evidence that has turned up so far. "Now they're saying that he was able to evade police, make it out through a rock quarry," he said. "He's got a four-inch knife shaft in him, and he's carrying a compound bow, but he doesn't drop a hat, an arrow, a lighter, any person belonging."

Beard said that above all, he hopes the incident will stay in the news until the whole truth is known. "I hope that people like you will write about it, will look into it, will look into the police procedures," Beard said. "It appears that the Malvern Police believe this story entirely."

Malvern police spokesman J.D. Bailey said that he couldn't confirm or deny whether the officer involved in the shooting was Officer Brian Johnson. Police have refused to release the identity of the officer, claiming at various times that this was being done out of consideration for him and because the name was part of an ongoing investigation and thus exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Bailey said that he was not aware of the $500,000 reward, and that such a reward has not been "addressed through our department." He did say that a smaller reward -- $1,000 -- had been put up locally for the capture of the officer's assailant.

The police have stood by the officer who was shot. They say they are examining tire tracks found in the area and told Radio KARN that some blood samples had been sent to the state medical examiner for testing.

UPDATE: Dallas businessman Joe Beard, he of the $500,000 reward, has read our item, and phoned to say that he's "disturbed" by the fact that Malvern police spokesperson J.D. Bailey seems to be disregarding his half-million dollar reward Beard said the chief financial ifficer of his company talked to two cops at the Malvern PD as late as yesterday to discuss the validity of the reward fund and to verify that the company both has the money and plans to pay it if the officer's assailant is identified. "We were cleared by them," he said. "They told us it was fine to set it up." Beard said the reward fund will be handled through Summit National Bank, and added that the process of setting it up has been "difficult."

Another interesting tidbit from Beard: Officer Brian Johnson was served with papers in Beard's $31,000 civil suit against him on Thursday, April 17 -- the day before he was supposedly shot during a 1 a.m., life-and-death struggle with a combative bowhunter in the Malvern woods.

-- David Koon

Comments

As Flounder says in "Animal House" ... this (story) is greeeeeeeeeeeaaaat!"

Posted by: Quapaw | April 24, 2008 04:12 PM

Sounds like a case of a typical wife beater cop, being above the law b/c his fellow officers choose to look the other way when he beats his wife. Guess she finally had enough and shot him. I think it's time for the ASP to open a full-scale investigation of the Malvern PD. Who knows what those clowns are up to, but it can't be good.

Posted by: matthewroberson | April 24, 2008 08:23 PM

So, uh, this story is nuts.

Posted by: FreedomCounty | April 24, 2008 09:03 PM

Sounded nuts to me from the git go. If he is a wife/woman beater wish she had gotten off
a good head shot.............men should not be abused either, BTW.
Be on your best P & Q's when you pass thru Malvern, Donaldson, Midway, Friendship...........
they will pull you over for looking crosseyed.

Posted by: jazzy | April 24, 2008 09:51 PM

I just hope David minds his Ps & Qs when he passes through Malvern. Those podunk cops won't take kindly to a big city boy airing their dirty laundry for the whole state to see.

Posted by: 70%er | April 24, 2008 11:29 PM

I know this family personally. I am about 99% sure, if Brian's brothers are questioned they may have the key. They are very close ... may even have a hand in it. Brian's maternal grandfather is a military man and Brian knows much more than people think. Plus, they are a very strict family. He probably doesn't want to let his family down (regarding the $$) so he concocted the story in fear of their rejection. Not to mention, he has a 3 year old son who would be let down ... poor little Holton johnson. His wife is no saint either. A first grade teacher in Malvern, she should not be hiding something THIS big. The Malvern Daily Record and Malvern Police are not even willing to release Brian Johnson's name to the public. Which says so much. They don't believe him! The public will not believe him! Her own family doesn't believe him! Generally, when a police officer is shot, the community and other officers rally around them ... who is standing up for Brian Johnson other than his partner in crime ... yet to be named!

Posted by: nlovewithjosh | May 11, 2008 07:09 PM

nlovewithjosh,
You ought to be ashamed of yourself for bringing a kid's name into this! I pray to god you are not from Malvern. The last thing we need is another gossip running around that thinks they know the whole story. You are C-L-A-S-S-L-E-S-S. This three year old boy has done nothing. Ms. Johnson is one of the best first grade teachers around. She is caring and compassionate and the kid's love her! Malvern School District is DAMN LUCKY to have her.

This story doesn't tell the other half... Was Brian Johnson contacted for an interview? It wasn't mentioned if he was. That is pathetic reporting...

Now the Beards... Offering a big reward because you have an axe to grind?? C-L-A-S-S-L-E-S-S

Posted by: Disgusted | May 12, 2008 01:15 PM

I know this family very personally, too. Very personally. NlovewithJosh... you should probably talk to the family before you start speaking for them. Every single, sane member that counts in Holly's family stands firmly behind Brian. Why? Because there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that Brian is not telling the truth. The story preceding these outrageous comments is pathetic. I know that most media is liberal, but seriously... what happened to thical journalism? And come on. Are people really concerned about the fact that the police department wouldn't release Brian's name? Think about it. He was shot by a man who has yet to be caught... a man that could easily be a risk to both Brain and his family. I'm disgusted that this blog, and Joe and Sherry Beard, decided that they had the moral authority to put the family in danger.

Posted by: notNloveWithJoSh | May 14, 2008 02:04 AM

Let me see. There is a man in Malvern with a 4 inch hunting blade broke off in to him. No hospital in the state has tended to the wound. No man has been found dead of such wound. The man did not drop even a droplet of blood in his run from Johnson. He did not drop anything. It was pitch black out, and Johnson was about to give a 95% accurate description to have a flier posted all over the place. Hmmmm ... No shred of evidence he is telling the truth either.

I was not speaking FOR them at all. I just know what I know. Blood may be thicker than water, but the truth out-weighs both.

Great ... now we have a scared cop protecting this fair community. I feel so safe.

Posted by: nlovewithjosh | May 17, 2008 07:23 PM

Yeah... I bet the person who shot him would go straight home and stay there, living his life as normal. He would definately go to a hospital in the same city... I bet you, nlovewithjosh, are the only person who would follow such screwed up logic. As for not finding a "droplet of blood," that is just one piece of the story you have wrong. Blood WAS found... and sent to a crime lab (outside of Mlavern). Did you know they also found some thick, rough hair on Brian's uniform... which wasn't his. See... this is all stuff that, well, you, have ignored. And you want to know something else? Even when it is dark outside, I could give you a damn good description of anyone or anything that is inches from my face... it's amazing what this little chemical known as adrenaline can do. Study much science (or anything else for that matter) Nlovewithjosh? I kind of feel like giving you a slight lesson on law and justice right now... but I feel it would be wasted. You can't assume, simply because the shooter has not been caught, that he does not exist. Ever heard of a little phrase that goes something like, "innocent until proven guilty?" I suppose the rhetoric is just a bit above your head.

And by the way, when you spoke earlier and said that none of Holly's family believed Brian... that happens to be speaking FOR them. See... that is putting words in their mouths. I hate that I have to explain even that to you.

Finally, I never even implied that Brian was scared. If you are going to try to twist a person's words, chose someone who won't call you out on it. I said releasing the names of the family and the cop put them in danger.... and being in danger in no way directly correlates with being scared. Just because you don't understand what courage is doesn't mean that other people can't display it. It seems to me that you have much bigger things to worry about than a Malvern police officer.

Posted by: notNloveWithJoSh | May 30, 2008 11:46 AM

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Malvern mystery UPDATE

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