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U.S. Attorney Declines To Prosecute National Park Service Rangers Who Shot And Killed Camper

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Published Date

July 26, 2018

Two National Park Service rangers who were involved in a fatal shooting at Buffalo National River last summer will not be prosecuted, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

U.S. Attorney Duane Kees said he found that the evidence in the matter supports the reasonableness of the officer’s use of lethal force in this case. 

Jonathan Bolger, 34, of Branson, Missouri, was camping with his girlfriend in the Spring Creek Campground last August 20 when two rangers on night patrol confronted him around 1:30 a.m. The rangers, who have not been identified, told Bolger they were law enforcement officers. They saw that the man was pointing what they believed was a semi-automatic handgun directly at them. The investigation revealed that Bolger was armed with an Umarex XCP air pistol, which appears identical to a two-toned semi-automatic handgun, and does not have any identifying markers to show that it is an air pistol, a Park Service release said Wednesday.

The rangers ordered Bolger to drop the weapon multiple times, but he refused, it added. He continued verbally challenging the rangers and made a sudden threatening move. One of the rangers then shot him three times. The rangers, a civilian, and ambulance personnel from the North Arkansas Regional Medical Center provided lifesaving efforts to Bolger, but were unable to revive him. The Searcy County Coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.

Previously, the Searcy County prosecutor declined to prosecute the case and found that the evidence supports the reasonableness of the officer’s use of lethal force in this case, the Park Service said. 

The NPS Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team, a specially trained unit of special agents from around the country, conducted the investigation. The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigative Division and Searcy County Sheriff’s Department provided substantial investigative support at the scene of the incident, and assisted the NPS in the investigation. The rangers were found to have properly followed law and policy in this situation and were justified in their actions.

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Comments

Submitted by y_p_w on July 26, 2018 - 2:46pm.

Sounds like a reasonable response to me.  I found a photo of that air pistol, and it certainly looks like a real gun.  Especially at night it would be easy to mistake it for a real gun.

I also understand that a lot of people don't necessarily associate "park ranger" with law enforcement.  I've asked if perhaps law enforcement duties should be shifted to just the US Park Police, where there might be a better understanding of their law enforcement responsibilities.  However, I've talked to a few USPP and LE rangers and they've said there's more resource protection and even some interpretation with NPS LE rangers.  They have taken to marking some of their vehicles with "POLICE" or "LAW ENFORCEMENT".


Submitted by Mather Forever on July 28, 2018 - 5:54am.

Very sad that someone was killed. I am glad to see the rangers given due process and have been cleared.  If there are any lessons learned I hope they get shared with the LE community within the NPS.  


Submitted by aargle bargle on July 28, 2018 - 10:26pm.

My sympathy to the officers and their families. A  terrible experience came their way. I am glad their training and experience allowed them to act professionally and to receive the appropriate assessments from their agency and prosecutors.

Sympathy too for the misguided soul who lost his life, and his family. What a sad way to cause ones own death.


Submitted by C W on July 29, 2018 - 9:40am.

My lesson learned is leave campers alone at 1:30 AM.  With all the talk of American Carnage, it is no wonder that a camper may bring a fake weapon along in the hopes of scaring off the violent invaders of our country.


Submitted by argalite on July 30, 2018 - 1:34pm.

This does not tell the whole story, or even enough to get an idea what happened.  Why did the rangers confront him?  That should be a primary question.


Submitted by Lee Dalton on July 30, 2018 - 2:25pm.

Here is the original story:

 

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2017/08/buffalo-national-river-ran...

 


Submitted by y_p_w on July 31, 2018 - 2:31am.

argalite: This does not tell the whole story, or even enough to get an idea what happened.  Why did the rangers confront him?  That should be a primary question.

My reading is that it was a routine early morning foot patrol.  When they arrived, the the rangers claim that this camper confronted the rangers by pointing his air pistol at the rangers.  And yes it looks like a real gun.

https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missouri-man-killed-in-officer-...


Submitted by AMP on July 31, 2018 - 11:45am.

More details in this story: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jul/29/flashlights-dark-cited-in...

 


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