Police chief put gun to woman’s head and threatened to kill her, Arkansas cops say

An Arkansas police chief was recently arrested, accused of assaulting a woman and threatening to kill her, officials told news outlets.

Robert Lee Thomas, 32, was taken into custody after 2 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16, court records show.

Thomas was the chief of police in Parkin, a town of about 1,000 people in northeast Arkansas, KAIT reported.

A woman told investigators that she arrived at her home in West Memphis to find Thomas standing outside, seemingly intoxicated, according to a West Memphis Police Department report. They spoke for a few minutes before Thomas became upset, went into the house and began throwing out her things, according to police.

Thomas then pulled out a handgun, put it against the woman’s head and told her he was going to kill her, investigators said.

Police say the woman pushed the pistol away and Thomas started choking her, but she was able to break away by biting him.

At some point, Thomas called his sister, telling her he was “about to kill” the woman, police said. The sister arrived at the scene and recorded him making threats toward the woman, before officers came and disarmed him, police said.

As his sister was recording, Thomas “started threatening her saying he was going to shoot her, kill his wife then kill his dad,” according to police.

Thomas is no longer listed as police chief on the city’s website, and Parkin’s mayor, Diane Patterson, told WREG that he has been fired without pay.

Thomas bonded out of jail at 3:30 a.m., the station reported, less than an hour after he was booked.

He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault against family or a household member and terroristic threatening, records show.

West Memphis is about 10 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee.

This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Police chief put gun to woman’s head and threatened to kill her, Arkansas cops say."