Arkansas police chief accused of beating, stranding suspect in rural area, faces kidnapping charge

A police chief in a small southeast Arkansas town was arrested this week and charged with the suspected kidnapping of a man who he is accused of driving to a remote location, beating and leaving stranded.

The charge stems from an October incident in which Eudora Police Chief Michael H. Pitts, 45, was dispatched to a gas station in the town located 145 miles south of Little Rock to deal with a man causing a disturbance, according to a release from Arkansas State Police. The police agency launched an investigation in November at the request of a district attorney to determine whether Pitts illegally detained the unruly customer, identified as a 49-year-old man.

After an arrest warrant was issued, Pitts surrendered himself Tuesday the Chicot County Sheriff’s Office, state police said.

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Chief claims he let man go free

Chief Pitts had been called Oct. 26 to the gas station to deal with the unruly customer, who he told investigators he intended to arrest on charges of criminal trespassing, public intoxication and terroristic threatening, according to a probable cause affidavit.

However, Pitts said he was unable to take the man to jail because the back seat of his patrol car was temporarily storing a vehicle bumper, investigators said in the affidavit. The logistical challenge, Pitts claimed, prompted him to remove the man's handcuffs, warning him not to return to the gas station.

But investigators with the Arkansas State Police came to a much more different conclusion of how the interaction transpired. The customer's account, combined with cell phone data, led investigators to determine that Pitts forced the gas station customer into his cruiser before transporting him to a remote location in Chicot County.

Investigators: Chief warned man he would 'beat his ass'

While driving to the remote location, Pitts is accused of telling the man that he was going to "beat his ass," the man told investigators. Once they reached the destination, Pitts is then accused of assaulting the man and leaving him stranded, according to the state police.

“Upon reaching County Road 86, (the man) alleges that Chief Pitts forcibly removed him from the patrol unit and subjected him to a brutal assault, resulting in significant injuries to his face and head,” an Arkansas State Police special agent wrote in a court affidavit obtained by USA TODAY.

The man told investigators he had left his hat in Pitts' patrol vehicle, which he found the next day near a dumpster, according to the affidavit. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators captured Pitts stopping near the same dumpster the night of the kidnapping, the affidavit states.

Multiple outlets have reported that Pitts' position as Eudora's police chief has been terminated. USA TODAY left a message Friday morning with Eudora Mayor Tomeka Butler seeking to verify Pitts' employment status that was not immediately returned.

Pitts, who is due in court on Feb. 26, was released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond, records show.

“Chief Pitts denies the allegations and we intend to defend the case vigorously,” his attorney, Russell Wood, told the Associated Press.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com