The chief said his son, a sergeant over the criminal interdiction unit, took cover Thursday behind his vehicle as teenager Joseph Kane opened fire with an AK-47. He said bullets pierced the engine, the car and shattered glass. Brandon was riddled with bullets before being shot in the back of the head, Paudert said.
The chief said moments after the shooting, when he arrived on the scene, officers were in the ditch with the 38-year-old Evans trying to keep his face out of the blood-soaked water.
“No one was around Brandon,” Paudert said. “I walked over there to him. He was lying face-up staring straight at the sky. The whole pavement was full of blood and the back of his head was gone. It was obvious why he was by himself and Bill was getting all the attention ... There was absolutely no doubt he was gone.
“Seeing your beautiful son looking at you like that was the most horrible thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. Ever.”
Evans died a short time later at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.
Paudert said Brandon died holding his service revolver. He had gotten off three or four rounds at the suspects before he was killed.
Paudert said that he hasn’t been able to look at the squad car’s dashboard camera video of the incident. He doesn’t know if he ever will be able to. He’s gotten most of the details from his department’s investigators and information from the Arkansas State Police.
When the chief learned that the suspects were cornered in the Walmart parking lot about 90 minutes after the shooting, he grabbed his weapon and headed out of his house. He wanted to be the one to shoot them, he said.
But an officer arrived at Paudert’s house and told him both suspects were dead. The other suspect was Joe Kane’s father, Jerry.
“These animals had no value for human life,” said Paudert. “I believe justice was served in that parking lot. They shot chief (W.A.) Wren and Sheriff (Dick) Busby. Lord knows how many people, officers and innocent bystanders could have been killed in that parking lot if they hadn’t been stopped.”
Paudert went to the West Memphis police station Tuesday for the first time since the shooting to talk to members of his small police force at roll call.
He kissed some on the cheek and rubbed their heads as he held them in long hugs. There were 76 officers on the force. Now there are 74.
Paudert told them that as of Tuesday, he wanted officers carrying shotguns on traffic stops. He wanted one officer to approach while a second officer stood back with a shotgun ready to fire if the situation turns dangerous.
“Brandon and Bill had no chance against an AK-47,” Paudert said. “They were completely outgunned. We are dealing with people who rant and rave about killing. They want government officials dead. We had a 16-year-old better armed than the police.”
Paudert said Brandon called on the day of the shooting about 9:45 a.m. to say his unit was in a parking lot at a local motel watching a rental truck and another car with Arizona license plates they suspected of carrying drugs.
Paudert came to the scene and discovered that it was simply a grandmother with her daughter and grandchildren moving with their furniture.
“Bill was laughing all the way back to his car,” Paudert said. “I told them to get their butts back out on the interstate and do some work.”
An hour later, Paudert was headed to Missouri with his wife, who was recovering from open-heart surgery. She wanted to be near her family who had more time to help her.
They heard the call on the radio that two officers were down. They arrived on the scene a few minutes later.
“I told her to stay in the car,” Paudert said. “After I saw it was Brandon, I went back to tell her. She started screaming. ‘Please let me kiss him. Please let me hold his hand.’ I was afraid she was going to die and I just knew I couldn’t lose two people at one time.”
The chief said the outpouring of support from the community and all over the country has been incredible.
He has been in touch with the governor several times. Former president Bill Clinton called. Paudert said the days are a blur of visitors. It’s still hard to sink in that his oldest son is gone.
“I will never have a peaceful thought in my mind again,” Paudert said. “Brandon will always be there.”
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