No charges for Arkansas officer who accidentally shot teen

OSCEOLA, Ark. – Prosecutors in eastern Arkansas say they won’t charge a police officer whose gun accidentally misfired, striking a 16-year-old boy whom she was trying to arrest.

Prosecutor Scott Ellington said Wednesday that no charges will be filed against Osceola Police Officer Jennifer Ephlin in the Feb. 24 shooting. Authorities say Ephlin’s gun discharged when she was trying to take the teen into custody as she and other officers responded to a robbery at a gas station.

The teen was struck in the lower back and was treated at a hospital and released later the same day.

Ellington said in a letter to Arkansas State Police investigators that criminal charges aren’t warranted because “all evidence indicates this was an accident.”