In the autumn of 1995, a young male deputy sheriff, Roland Peter Williamson, who was 22 years old, had been with the Washington County Sheriff's Office for about nine months. On the morning of November 7th, he was tasked with transporting a detainee to a scheduled doctor's appointment at a urology clinic located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The routine transport took a devastating turn inside the examination room of the medical facility.
While at the clinic, the prisoner saw an opportunity to escape and violently turned on Deputy Williamson. The detainee managed to overpower the deputy, gaining control of his service weapon. In the ensuing struggle, the inmate fatally shot Deputy Williamson. The chaos and violence of the escape attempt spilled out from the exam room, where another patient bravely attempted to intervene and stop the fleeing prisoner. Tragically, the armed inmate also shot and killed this civilian.
Following the shootings, the suspect fled the medical office and stole a truck to make his getaway. The alarm was raised, and a swift response from local law enforcement ensued. Deputies quickly located the stolen vehicle and surrounded the suspect. Before he could be taken into custody and held accountable for the day's tragic events, the inmate took his own life. No arrests were made in direct connection with the death of Deputy Williamson, as the sole perpetrator died at the scene of the manhunt.
