PINE BLUFF Officer Involved Shooting leaves a 23-year-old dead & questions still linger (JUSTIFIED?)

ASP CID INVESTIGATES FATAL OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING IN PINE BLUFF November 22, 2025 PINE BLUFF, Ark. — At the request of the Pine Bluff Police Department (PBPD), the Arkansas State Police (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Friday, November 21, 2025, and resulted in the death of a Pine Bluff man. PBPD officers attempted a traffic stop on West 27th Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. When the vehicle stopped, a suspect with a firearm exited the vehicle and fled on foot. During the incident, PBPD officers fired on the suspect, later identified as Jeremy Lawrence Jr., 23. Lawrence was struck and collapsed in a yard on 28th Avenue. He was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries. Two other subjects in the vehicle were apprehended and detained by the PBPD. No law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident. The deceased will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab to determine the cause and manner of death. ASP CID will prepare an investigative file to submit to the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office, which will determine if the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law. ------------------ Several months later, the shooting was ruled justified: Prosecutor rules PBPD officers' shooting justified 02/18/2026 PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter has determined that three Pine Bluff Police officers - J.L. Williams, Corey Lowery and Derek Johnson - were justified under Arkansas law in their use of deadly force during an incident on Nov. 21, 2025. ------------------ The Pine Bluff Police Chief speaks on the shooting incident: PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Pine Bluff Police Chief Shawn Davis gave a breakdown of the department’s investigation into the Nov. 21, 2025, shooting in the city. The investigation surrounding the death of 23-year-old Jeremy Lawrence was conducted by the Arkansas State Police, the chief said. This investigation resulted in the Jefferson County prosecutor stating in February that the use of deadly force was justified. Subsequently, the Pine Bluff Police Department investigated, Davis said, to ensure that department policy was followed in the shooting. Officials said previously, and Davis confirmed, that Lawrence was riding in an SUV that fled after police ordered it to stop. It had driven into the perimeter of a crime scene where officers had found shell casings and magazines on the ground, Davis said. A passenger in the SUV’s back seat was carrying a gun, officers said, and they pursued. Davis said Lawrence jumped out of the SUV after a few blocks as it began to stop and briefly pointed the gun he was carrying toward an officer, who fired from behind the wheel of his patrol vehicle. Davis said this was Officer Lowery, who fired nine rounds while he was driving, then four more at Lawrence after he stopped. The officers who pursued the SUV and Lawrence were Lowery, Williams and Johnson, the chief said. Lawrence ran into nearby woods and turned toward the pursuing officers, moving as if he was about to fire, and the officers then shot him “until surrender was indicated,” Davis said. After that, they gave first aid until an ambulance crew was on site, he said. Lawrence died that night at the hospital. Davis said the investigation encompassed department policy on three items: vehicle pursuit, use of force and unsafe acts. The first two, pursuit and force, were not violated by the responding officers; the unsafe acts policy, however, was in a gray area, the chief said. Because Lowery fired from a moving car, which PBPD trains its officers to do, but the department does not have a specific policy on shooting from a moving vehicle, Lowery’s actions “raises concerns,” Davis said, since his shooting with one hand while driving with one hand “presents a significant safety concern.” The lack of policy on driving while firing is being addressed, Davis said. Davis continued that while the PBPD was conducting the investigation, Lowery resigned. Because of this and the lack of policy on driving while shooting, the investigation was ended, the chief said.