Arkansas police chief accused of kidnapping and beating man he arrested

EUDORA, Ark. (TCD) — A police chief is being charged with felony kidnapping for allegedly handcuffing a person who had beforehand precipitated a disturbance, beating him, then leaving him stranded on a highway.

Arkansas State Police introduced Eudora Police Chief Michael Pitts turned himself in to the Chicot County Sheriff’s Workplace on Tuesday, Jan. 30, for his arrest on one depend of kidnapping.

On Oct. 26, 2023, Pitts was known as to an area gasoline station to “take away a person who was inflicting a disruption on the enterprise.” In line with the possible trigger affidavit, Pitts went to the gasoline station and arrested the person, John Hill Jr., for prison trespass, public intoxication, and terroristic threatening. Pitts was on the point of put him in his patrol car however “confronted an unexpected problem” as a result of there was a automobile bumper within the again seat. Pitts reportedly took the bumper out, put Hill in, and tried to suit the automobile half into the again, but it surely “turned obvious that it might not match.”

Pitts launched Hill although there was one other Eudora Police Division officer on the scene.

Hill reportedly informed investigators that he was strolling down the road when Pitts “intercepted” him. Pitts allegedly handcuffed Hill, put him within the patrol automobile, and drove him to a different location. The affidavit alleges Pitts “conveyed to Mr. Hill his intent to bodily assault him, stating that he was going to ‘beat his a–.'”

Once they arrived at County Highway 86, Pitts allegedly “forcibly eliminated him from the patrol unit and subjected him to a brutal assault, leading to important accidents to his face and head.”

After the purported beating, Pitts left Hill on the highway and drove away.

Hill reportedly informed investigators he had been holding onto a crack pipe however dropped it when Pitts hit him. Investigators later positioned the crack pipe in the identical space.

Mobile knowledge allegedly positioned Pitts on the location the place he reportedly assaulted Pitts. Surveillance footage reportedly confirmed Pitts driving a Dodge Charger close to the Southern Sips Too grocery retailer. Hill mentioned he left his hat within the car, however on Oct. 27, he reportedly discovered it close to the Southern Sips Too dumpster.

The tenth Judicial District Prosecuting Lawyer’s Workplace reached out to the Arkansas State Police in November and requested the Particular Investigations Unit to conduct a probe into Hill’s allegations.

Pitts has been chief of the Eudora Police Division since April 2022.

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