Watch traffic stop erupt into gunfight between Ark. police and man who ‘wanted to die’
The traffic stop along a rural highway in northwest Arkansas went all wrong, even before the Washington County Sheriff’s corporal got out of his patrol vehicle, recently released dash cam video shows.
Luis Cobos-Cenobio, 29, remained in the Washington County Detention Center Thursday, with bond set at $500,000 according to jail records, after police say he opened fire on Corporal Brett Thompson during a traffic stop near tiny Tonitown on Sunday. Cobos-Cenobio is also charged with terroristic act, fleeing, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records.
He is also being detained on a separate “federal hold,” which the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported was requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
After bystanders posted their own videos of the firefight on social media, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office decided to release parts of Thompson’s dash and body cam videos of the shootout, “because of the great public interest” the case generated.
Deputies say Cobos-Cenobio is the man seen opening the door of the Saturn sedan after it pulls over to the side of the road. The driver then positions himself behind the driver’s side door frame for cover, and leans out while firing the first few shots at Thompson’s patrol SUV, video shows.
“Shots fired,” Thompson can be heard yelling to his dispatcher, twice, during the gunfight. When the suspect’s gunfire forces Thompson to back away from his SUV, the driver can be seen taking off.
Cobos-Cenobios was arrested about a half-hour later, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
He told police he started firing at Thompson because he “wanted to die,” KFSM reported, but he was ultimately arrested by Springdale police and taken to Northwest Medical Center with a wound to his arm. Fayetteville police and Arkansas State Police also responded after the suspect fled the scene.
No police or sheriff’s deputies were harmed.
This story was originally published November 15, 2018 at 3:43 PM.