Fired Trumann Officer Was Reprimanded for Tasing Man Without Probable Cause in Jonesboro

JONESBORO, Ark. — A former police officer who was fired after a public outcry about a physical altercation with a 70-year-old woman was disciplined for using excessive force in 2023, but in a separate case.

Former Officer Will Tate lost his job in Trumann last week after renewed online backlash to a use-of-force incident from 2023. In that incident, which occurred when he was an officer in Jonesboro, Tate manhandled a woman, 70, who had angered him at another officer’s scene. Although a complaint was filed against Tate, JPD took no action.

However, new documents obtained by NEA Report through a Freedom of Information Act request detailed disciplinary action taken against then-JPD Officer Will Tate following an incident later in the year, on October 31, 2023, at 207 North Main Street.

Tate was dispatched for a shoplifting complaint, but when he arrived, he realized it was more of a trespass issue, with the store clerk wanting a man to leave. The man was argumentative, stating he was friends with the owner and asking for an explanation.

Instead of explaining the process of criminal trespass, Tate escalated the situation, an internal affairs investigation said. Tate closed the distance, drew his taser, and grabbed the subject by the shirt collar.

“At this point, the only verbal commands you have issued to the subject are to get out of the store, at which you have now begun yelling,” the investigation said.

The subject asked the officer to remove his hands from him as he moved toward the doorway. Once the two clear the doorway, the officer pushes the subject away and then deploys his taser as the man turns to walk away.

“At no point during the contact was the subject anything more than verbally confrontational, and you never developed probable cause for an arrest in which a use of force would have been authorized,” Tate’s supervisor wrote in the reprimand.

Tate also falsely wrote in his incident report that he heard Baker say, “When we get outside, we’re going to throw hands.” But the statement did not occur, police found.  Supervisor Bryan Davis wrote that he believed Tate “misheard” the subject.

The subject was arrested in the incident for criminal trespass, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct, but was later released after police wrote they found probable cause to be “lacking” for these charges.

Police recommended remedial training for Tate as well as a class in de-escalation.

Tate was suspended for two days over the incident, from Dec. 6 to Dec. 8, 2023. The disciplinary action was approved by Chief Rick Elliott.

Tate resigned from JPD not long after his suspension. According to JPD’s PIO Sally Smith, Tate was employed from August 3, 2020, to Dec. 28, 2023, when he resigned.

NEA Report obtained the disciplinary record of Tate through a FOIA request, despite Tate requesting that the Arkansas Attorney General provide an opinion on their release. This delayed the release of all of the files until June 20, 2025.

See More:

PS 23-056 Investigation and Reprimand_Redacted

PS 23-056 Suspension

2025-045 AG Opinion

PS 23-026 Lana Turner FOIA Complaint_Redacted