The Little Rock Police Department this afternoon said Bradley Blackshire, 30, of Little Rock was killed by Patrol Officer Charles Starks after a car driven by Blackshire struck Starks about 11 a.m. at Twelfth and Rodney Parham.

A police release said Starks “located a 2018 black Nissan Altima, in a parking lot on 12th Street and Rodney Parham Road. The vehicle was listed as a stolen vehicle, according to police records. Officer Starks performed a traffic stop on the vehicle.”

The release said Blackshire refused Starks’ order to get out of the car and began driving forward. Starks fired, apparently multiple times, and hit Blackshire. The vehicle stopped. The release said officers gave aid, but Blackshire died at the scene. Police learned later that a vehicle driving past on 12th was hit by a stray bullet.

Starks was struck by the car, police said. He received treatment at a hospital, but the release didn’t detail the extent of his injuries.


The report lists a 20-year-old woman, Desaray Clarke, as a passenger in the vehicle, but no mention of any injuries to her. She was questioned and released.

The incident report reveals few details. There’s no description of where Starks stood and where the vehicle was stopped when the encounter began. It says the Nissan was owned by Carco Carriage Co. of Fort Smith. It was the only item listed as impounded. There’s no mention of a gun being found on Blackshire or in his car.


Starks, 31, joined the force in 2013. He’s on administrative leave. An Internet search shows Starks was involved in a wreck with another vehicle while speeding to a robbery call. The driver of the other vehicle complained at the time about being ticketed while Starks was not. He was operating without siren and emergency lights. In 2016, he was given a five-day suspension for an altercation while off-duty with another customer at the end of a movie at Rave Theater. A police document posted on Russ Racop’s blog said Starks had not identified himself as an officer and failed to call other police or notify his superior of the incident.

A Bradley Blackshire was at the heart of a murder case in 2013, according to a Democrat-Gazette article at the time. One man was killed and another wounded after one of them tried to break up an argument between Blackshire and another man. Blacksher was a potential witness in an attempted murder case against the man with whom he was arguing, but the case was dropped after Blackshire refused to testify.

Blackshire’s name turns up several times in circuit court records. Among them: He was awaiting trial on three counts related to possession of cocaine and firearms. He received a one-year sentence for domestic battery in 2015. He received probation for burglary and fleeing in 2012. There are other traffic and lesser charges under the name.

Two videos have been posted on Facebook that purportedly provide the account of the woman in the car with Blackshire.