FSPD OFFICERS’ USE OF DEADLY FORCE JUSTIFIED, PROSECUTOR SAYS

September 10, 2026

FORT SMITH, Ark. — Arkansas’ Twelfth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue determined that the use of deadly force by officers with the Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) during a May 17, 2026, officer-involved fatal shooting was justified under Arkansas law.

At the request of the FSPD, the Arkansas State Police (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division investigated the incident, which involved Joshua Keller, 27, of Fort Smith, and four FSPD officers.

In a Sept. 3 letter to ASP and FSPD Chief Danny Baker, Shue wrote that the officers’ actions were justified.

“Had the officers not shot Keller at the end of the pursuit, I could just as easily be writing a letter about the homicide of an FSPD officer or a citizen driving northbound on I-540,” Shue wrote.

The incident began when officers contacted Keller during an investigation near the McClure Amphitheater. Keller shot Officer Kyle Newman in the neck before fleeing the area.

A subsequent pursuit ended near the Grand Avenue overpass, where officers exchanged gunfire with Keller. The investigation determined that all four Fort Smith officers discharged their weapons during the incident.

“I do not find it objectively unreasonable that the officers felt it necessary to employ deadly force to defend themselves and third persons from perceived imminent threat of great bodily injury or death presented by Keller,” Shue wrote.

Officer Newman has returned to work at the FSPD. He was awarded the department’s Medal of Valor and Purple Heart.

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