Pine Bluff officers shot and injured a shooting suspect on Wednesday, now the incident is investigated by the Arkansas State Police

Pine Bluff, Arkansas – During a shooting exchange that occurred on Wednesday, officers with the Pine Bluff Police Department shot and injured a suspect wanted for several crimes in the past. Now, the officer-involved shooting incident is being investigated by the Arkansas State Police which should determine if the use of deadly force was necessary.

Dustin Denton, 30, of Pine Bluff, was wanted on a variety of charges, including parole violation, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a weapon by certain persons, and others.

In the afternoon hours of Wednesday, Pine Bluff officers arrived at a location to arrest the suspect. Just after 4 p.m., the suspect spotted the officers as he was exiting the Immuno Tek Plasma Center, took his gun and opened fire toward the police.

The responding officers returned fire and hit the suspect, leaving him injured. He was immediately transported to a local hospital where he received treatment. The department later confirmed in a statement that Denton suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover.

Fortunately, none of the officers involved in the shooting incident were injured.

On Thursday, officials with the Pine Bluff Police Department said that they asked Arkansas State Police special agents to conduct an internal investigation and determine if the officers’ actions that day were in correspondence with Arkansas laws. Internal investigations are standard procedure after every single officer-involved shooting.

While investigating if the use of deadly force was necessary, ASP special agents will take into account witness statements and evidence from the crime scene which clearly indicate that the suspect was the one who opened fire on the officers first.

MDMH – Pine Bluff team will closely follow this case and will update the story once the results of the internal investigation are revealed to the public.

Stay with us for updates when available.