"It's every chief's worst nightmare to get a call that your officer has been shot or involved in a shooting," England Police Department Chief Nathan Cook told Arkansas Online. "To investigate and find out it's self-inflicted just puts a whole different spin on it."
On October 24, Houser claimed he was shot by a Hispanic male during a traffic stop, though the round did not penetrate his bulletproof vest. He wrote in his report that he "exchanged gunfire with a suspect who fled from him driving a sport utility vehicle."
The person he described was never found, as they do not exist.
An investigation conducted by the Arkansas State Police found information "contradictory to Houser's initial statement."
On Monday, Houser was interviewed again and "admitted that he had fabricated that whole thing,” including placing spent ammunition rounds in the road to create a fake crime scene.
"Obviously he needs some help to have fabricated a shooting incident and to shoot yourself and claim you were shot at by someone who doesn't exist," Cook said.
On Tuesday Houser surrendered himself to authorities and was released from the Lonoke County jail before 10 AM on $2,500 bond. He faces a felony charge of filing a false police report and has been fired from the department.
