State authorities to send out Malinowski case file to Pulaski County district attorney

BRYAN MALINOWSKI
Brian Chilson

The Arkansas State Police will refer its case file on the deadly shooting of previous Little Rock airport director Bryan Malinowski to Pulaski County district attorney Will Jones, the state authorities said Monday evening.

Malinowski, 53, was shot at his home in West Little Rock in a March 19 pre-dawn raid by representatives with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who were trying to serve a search warrant associated to presumably prohibited gun sales made by the airport executive. The ATF stated Malinowski shot first; he passed away of his injuries two days later.

Bud Cummins, a lawyer representing the Malinowski household, has stated he most likely thought the ATF representatives were home trespassers. Cummins and others, including some Republican state legislators, are pushing the ATF to respond to questions about how the raid was performed.

On Friday, U.S. senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton stated the Justice Department told them that the agents weren't using body cams, as is normally needed by company policy. And on Monday, U.S. House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent out a letter to the director of the ATF requiring responses about the raid.
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An affidavit unsealed March 21 said Malinowski was dealing in firearms without a license and had acquired a minimum of 150 guns over the previous 3 years, many of which he sold at weapon shows or to personal buyers in other settings.
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The state authorities frequently investigates following an officer-involved shooting. A declaration from the state authorities said the scope of its evaluation was restricted to "the agent-involved shooting portion of the event," instead of tactics or methods utilized by the ATF.
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Here's the complete declaration:

The case file on the March 19 officer-involved shooting of Bryan Malinowski will be forwarded by Arkansas State Police's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to the 6th Judicial District prosecuting attorney's workplace on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

The shooting happened at 4 Durance Court, Little Rock, while the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was serving a federal search warrant. Malinowski, 53, was carried to a regional healthcare facility, where he died on March 21, 2024.

ASP is authorized to investigate just the agent-involved shooting part of the occurrence. CID has actually compiled a case file that will be turned over to the prosecutor, who will determine whether the shooting was warranted. Just like all such investigations, ASP will not provide any kind of suggestion to the district attorney.

" We do not have the authority to attend to techniques and methods used or whether company procedures and policies were followed," said ASP Colonel Mike Hagar. "Any administrative oversight of methods would be up to that agency's-- in this case, the U.S. Department of Justice-- internal review and is not part of the scope of what ASP is authorized to evaluate."

When to launch the case file, the prosecutor will figure out whether and.