Arkansas police officer fatally shoots Texas jail escapee
TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — An inmate who escaped from a northeast Texas jail was fatally shot by an Arkansas police officer after the inmate tussled with another officer who was trying to take him into custody, authorities said.
The inmate, 30-year-old Michael D. Olson, was one of two who were discovered missing early Monday from the Bowie County jail annex in Texarkana, Texas, a city on the state’s border with Arkansas about 165 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Dallas. Olson and Wayde Land escaped by breaking through a cinder block wall on the second floor of the facility, then maneuvering through perimeter fencing and barbed wire, the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff said video footage later captured the pair climbing onto a train.
About 1 p.m. Monday, two Texarkana, Arkansas, police officers encountered the inmates and tried to take them into custody, Arkansas State Police said. According to state police, Olson tried to grab an officer’s gun, causing it to fire, so the other police officer fatally shot him.
Land was taken into custody, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south of the jail annex, the Texarkana Gazette reported.
Olson was being held on a felony assault and probation violation charge while Land, 38, was jailed on burglary and drug charges, police said.
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