On March 7, 2006, Joseph Erin Hamley, an unarmed 21-year-old young man
who suffered from cerebral palsy, an intellectual disability, and a
psychiatric disability, was fatally shot and killed by Arkansas State
Trooper Larry P. Norman of West Fork, Arkansas. At 7AM on a Tuesday
morning the disabled Hamley was walking alone on highway 412 just
outside the community of Tontitown along the Benton-Washington county
line when several Washington County Deputies surrounded him. Four
minutes later, before being identified, and while lying on the ground, a
shotgun slug fired by Larry Norman, an Arkansas State Trooper breaking
police protocol and procedure, killed Joseph Erin Hamley. The fatal
shooting was recorded from multiple vantage points on dashboard cameras
of the various police cruisers present.

The Video recordings from
inside Norman's cruiser clearly show he sped to the site, sometimes
going over 100 mph, with his AM/FM radio blasting so loud he could not
hear his police radio. By the time Norman arrived at the scene, Arkansas
State Trooper Short and four Washington County Sheriff's deputies had
surrounded Hamley. They had their guns drawn and were taking defensive
positions behind their cars. One officer mentioned that if he could get
close enough to Hamley, he would use his Taser stun gun. Instead of
blocking traffic as he was instructed to do, Arkansas State Trooper
Larry Norman did a U-turn and pulled up about 25 yards from the young
man and pulled out his shotgun. Joseph Erin Hamley was shot as he lay
motionless on the ground. When officers approached him, Hamley moaned,
saying, "I'm sorry". He then asked, "Why did you shoot me?"

On
June 28, 2007 Arkansas State Trooper Larry Norman was sentenced to 90
days in jail and 30 days of community service after pleading guilty to
negligent homicide.

The Arkansas State Police have settled a civil suit
on March 5, 2007 with the victim's family for one million dollars. After
the killing, Norman was put on paid leave from the department pending
on the outcome of the trial. Norman eventually pled guilty to negligent
homicide was later granted a full early medical retirement from the
Arkansas State Police at the age of 40.

After the negligent
homicide, the Washington County Sheriffs Department and Arkansas State
Police stated they believed the mentally disabled Joseph Erin Hamley to
be Adam Lee Leadford whom they described as an escaped convict. Joseph
Erin Hamley stood 5'10" and weighed 175 pounds. Adam Lee Leadford was
5'6" and 160 pounds. Adam Lee Leadford was a Michigan teenager who ran
away from a court-sponsored boot camp, where he was sentenced for
vandalizing school buses and then struggling with an officer while
resisting arrest. An unarmed Adam Lee Leadford was later shot in the
throat by Springdale Police and arrested in a parking lot of a Wal-Mart
on the evening of Joseph Erin Hamley's shooting death. Director of
Arkansas State Police Col. Steve Dozier stated at a press conference in
Springdale, Arkansas on March 10, 2006 "Leadford had a .22 caliber rifle
when he was stopped."
Adam Lee Leadford had abandoned the weapon in a
vehicle, and it was not on his person when he was shot by Springdale
police after walking through a Wal-mart. Adam Lee Leadford is now
serving 30 years in an Arkansas state prison.