On a tragic day in West Memphis, Arkansas, Sergeant Robert Brandon Paudert, a 39-year-old male, lost his life in the line of duty. On the morning of May 20, 2010, what began as a routine traffic stop on Interstate 40 escalated into a violent confrontation that would claim the lives of two police officers and the two men who shot them. Sergeant Paudert, a seven-year veteran of the West Memphis Police Department and the son of the city's police chief, was providing backup for Officer Bill Evans,
who had pulled over a white minivan with unusual Ohio license plates.
The occupants of the van were identified as 45-year-old Jerry R. Kane Jr. and his 16-year-old son, Joseph T. Kane, who were later identified as members of the sovereign citizen movement. As the officers were engaged with the Kanes, a struggle ensued. Suddenly, the younger Kane emerged from the vehicle armed with an AK-47 variant and opened fire on both officers. Sergeant Paudert was struck multiple times and died at the scene, while Officer Evans was also fatally wounded and died at the hospital. The assailants then fled, sparking a massive manhunt.
Approximately 90 minutes after the initial shooting, the suspects' van was located in a nearby Walmart parking lot. A second shootout erupted when law enforcement, including the Crittenden County Sheriff and his chief deputy, confronted the Kanes. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, both Jerry and Joseph Kane were shot and killed. The county sheriff and his chief of patrol were seriously wounded during the confrontation. The violent end to the manhunt brought a close to the deadly rampage, but left a community and a police department in mourning for the loss of two of its own. No arrests could be made as the suspects were killed.
