Deputy shot man dead during traffic stop, cops say. Now, he faces murder charge

More than three months after a man was shot dead during a traffic stop, the deputy accused of firing his weapon has been arrested, Arkansas authorities say.

Former deputy Stevon Grindstaff has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault following the Dec. 3 incident, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Grindstaff, who the sheriff’s office said was fired following an investigation, was arrested by Arkansas State Police troopers, authorities said in a March 11 news release.

The sheriff’s office said the shooting happened after Grindstaff attempted to stop a pickup truck in northeast Washington County. The driver, identified by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as 57-year-old Scottie Stacy, then began to flee from the deputy, the sheriff’s office said.

Stacy drove “through a fence, down a dead-end road and into a field, where he stopped,” the sheriff’s office said.

Grindstaff got out of his patrol car, at which point Stacy accelerated in reverse toward the deputy and the sheriff’s vehicle, striking the car, authorities said.

That’s when the deputy fired his weapon at Stacy, according to the sheriff. Stacy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Arkansas State Police led the investigation, leading to Grindstaff’s arrest.

Grindstaff became a deputy in 2019 upon his graduation from the Northwest Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy.

He was jailed in the Washington County Detention Center, but records show he was released from custody Tuesday afternoon.

Washington County is about a 185-mile drive northwest of Little Rock.

This story was originally published March 12, 2024 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Deputy shot man dead during traffic stop, cops say. Now, he faces murder charge."