Death by Cop 2022-2024
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Steven Kyle McMasters
Gender : Male
Age :
Race : White
Date : 10/21/2023
Location : McGough and Butler
City : Bay
County : Craighead
State : Arkansas
Agency : Bay PD
Officer(s) :Christopher Shull
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
Around 11:15 p.m. on October 21, 2023, Bay PD Officer Shull informed dispatch that he was “in pursuit of a side-by-side.” Several minutes into it, Shull informed dispatch that he had hit the driver. In his next radio call, Shull mused that the vehicle “may be stolen” and he justified this assumption by stating that “it is brand new.” It is not known what type of vehicle it had been. Only 26 seconds later, Officer Shull again radio’d dispatch and announced “I just hit him. Dispatch. He wrecked out.”
Less than a minute later, Officer Shull was back on the radio, requesting an ambulance and then asking for a medical helicopter because McMasters was “bleeding from the nose and mouth.” A total of 80 seconds after the crash, he announced that McMasters was “10-7”, the code for "deceased."
The family of Steven Kyle McMasters disputes the officer’s remarks that the vehicle may be stolen which was the assumption that led Officer Shull to make the fatal decision to chase the vehicle on an apparent profiling assumption. Officer Shull then announced beer “near” the side-by-side, formulating the next accusation against the deceased motorist. The family strongly denies the claims about intoxication and has hired a lawyer.
Bay Police Chief declined to release information about the incident. The City of Bay has cited an ongoing investigation into their inability to remove the incident’s body and dash camera footage. The Arkansas State Police are currently involved in the investigation.
Bay PD Police Chief Keith Milam declined giving more information about the crash. He also refused to allow the City of Bay to investigate the bodycam and dashcam footage.
Chief Milam initially stated the officer would not be placed on leave for this incident. This was changed later when the case began being dissected in the media and Shull was then placed on paid administrative leave.
Chief Milam stated he could not comment because Arkansas State Police were investigating the critical incident. Arkansas State Police were questioned about this by media and said they were not aware of any investigation. Bodycam and dashcam allegedly exist and have again been requested by media but so far were met with the unwillingness of the Police Chief to share these records. This summary will be updated when more details become available.
