In the early morning hours of June 23, 2021, a 17-year-old white male named Noah Hunter Brittain was fatally shot by a Lonoke County Sheriff's deputy in Arkansas. Brittain, who had been working on the transmission of his truck with a friend, was taking the vehicle for a test drive when he was pulled over by Sergeant Michael Davis. The traffic stop occurred around 3 a.m.
outside an auto repair shop south of Cabot.
According to the account given by a passenger in Brittain's truck, the vehicle was having trouble and they had stopped. Brittain exited his truck and was at the rear of the vehicle, holding a container of what his family later said was antifreeze, which he intended to use to chock the tires as the truck was rolling backward. It was at this moment that Sergeant Davis fired his weapon, striking Brittain in the neck. No firearms were found in or near Brittain's truck. The shooting quickly drew the attention of civil rights activists and led to protests in the community.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that Sergeant Michael Davis had not activated his body camera until after the shot was fired, a violation of department policy that resulted in his termination from the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office. In September 2021, a special prosecutor charged Davis with felony manslaughter. The former deputy pleaded not guilty and his trial commenced in March 2022.
After a trial that garnered national attention, a jury found Michael Davis not guilty of manslaughter but convicted him of the lesser charge of negligent homicide. He was subsequently sentenced to one year in jail, the maximum penalty for that offense, and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. The verdict and sentence were met with mixed reactions from Brittain's family, who had hoped for a felony conviction to prevent Davis from serving as a law enforcement officer in the future. In the wake of the teen's death, his family advocated for 'Hunter's Law,' legislation aimed at ensuring all police officers in Arkansas wear and activate body cameras during their shifts.
