Efforts to identify a man who shot a police officer April 18 could be helped by a reward that, with the addition of a half-million dollars from a Texas company, has reached $502,000.

The officer hasn't been named by the Malvern Police Department, but his identity is known in the community. His wife has family ties with the owners of Westdale Asset Management of Dallas, which has put $500,000 in escrow at Summit Bank at Malvern as a cash-reward fund.

That money joins $1,000 each in reward money offered by the Malvern Fraternal Order of Police and the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It's all available to someone who provides information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the man who resisted arrest and shot an on-duty Malvern officer.

Malvern police say that, on April 18th, the officer approached a suspicious person in the River Park area about 1:00 a.m., and chased him when he fled. Officials say that, in an altercation that followed, the suspect shot the officer, and the officer stabbed the suspect. The officer was shot in the upper body and was released after hospital treatment.

The officer reported the suspect still had part of the knife in him when he got away.

Police said it appeared that the suspect was illegally hunting when the police officer approached him.



(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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