News Release



For further information please contact:

Sergeant Dan Crain

573-368-2345

I08D05

August 21, 2005



EMPHASIS: Arrest Suspect Dies Following Altercation With Troopers





On Saturday, August 20, 2005, at approximately 6:30 p.m., two Troop I Officers attempted to take a Springfield, Missouri resident into custody for a Strafford Police Department traffic warrant, on eastbound Interstate 44 at the Little Piney Bridge in Phelps County. As troopers were attempting to arrest the subject, he became violent and resistive, and a struggle ensued.



The suspect, identified as Jeffrey W. Williams, 36, refused to obey the repeated requests of the troopers to quit resisting. This resulted in a struggle that continued across the eastbound lanes of the interstate, causing traffic to stop. The intensity of the struggle escalated and in an attempt to prevent Mr. Williams from disarming an officer, and in an attempt to regain control of him, pepper spray was deployed by the troopers.



As the struggle continued, a motorist intervened and assisted the officers in subduing Mr. Williams. During the struggle, one trooper sustained an injury to his hand and the other inadvertently received pepper spray to his facial area. Williams sustained abrasions to his knees. An ambulance was called to the scene to decontaminate both Williams and troopers for the affects of the pepper spray, and to examine all individuals for any possible injuries.



Shortly after the ambulance arrived, Williams quit breathing and was immediately transported to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center, in Rolla, Missouri. At 7:19 p.m., Mr. Williams was pronounced dead by a hospital physician.

An investigation is being conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control.