Much speculation has swirled since March when Bryan Malinowski, executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, died from a gunshot wound after agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided his Little Rock home right before dawn with a search warrant.
Sixth Judicial Prosecutor Will Jones announced Friday afternoon that no charges will be filed against any officers who shot Malinowski.
Attorney Bud Cummins who represents the Malinowski family released the following statement.
Cummins later issued another statement because many media outlets repeatedly say Malinowski sold 150 guns, which is incorrect.
Gary Epperson, Gun Owners of Arkansas executive director, said, “Gun Owners of Arkansas is very dissapointed with the recent press release from the Pulaski County Prosecutor, which deemed the BATF’s shooting of Bryan Malinowski as justified, raises serious doubts about the impartiality of our justice system. This outcome is particularly concerning given the lack of oversight of Prosecuting Attorneys, which can lead to politically motivated decisions rather than fair and unbiased ones. The need for Grand Juries, free from political influence, has never been more pressing. Unfortunately, this finding will only exacerbate the existing mistrust of our judicial system, which is a disheartening development for gun owners and citizens alike.”
Arkansas state Rep. Matt Duffield held a press conference in April with other state legislators about Malinowski’s death. Duffield said, “This matter is under investigation by the United States Congress. We have yet to hear from the State Police about what they saw, heard or what their videos captured. I’m not convinced that Prosecutor Jones has the last word in what is an ongoing investigation.”
Earlier this week, the entire Arkansas Congressional Delegation signed on to a letter with Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asking for a litany of documents from Arkansas State Police about the Malinowski raid.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said, “I appreciate the work that Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones and his staff put into investigating the ATF raid that resulted in Bryan Malinowski’s death. There are many many questions still to be answered about the nature of the raid and how it was executed. As I have made clear repeatedly, regardless of whether the law was broken, the ATF could have handled the Malinowski case in a number of ways that would have made the tragedy that occurred far less likely. Unfortunately, they didn’t.”