Mississippi man identified as person killed in Alabama officer-involved shooting

Published 7:17 am Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Authorities say a Mississippi man was shot and killed early Sunday morning while attempting to flee from officers.

Officials with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama report that Clint Dearman, of Quitman, Mississippi, was shot and killed after he reportedly was armed with a pistol and refused to comply with demands to put his hands up inside a vehicle.

Below is the report from the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office:

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At approximately 2:00 a.m. on July 18, 2021, law enforcement officers from the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, Spanish Fort Police Department and Daphne Police Department attempted to arrest a subject on an outstanding arrest warrant for a federal firearms violation. That person has been identified as Clint Alexander Dearman of Quitman, Mississippi.

Patrol officers located Dearman’s vehicle at the Chevron gas station in Malbis and approached his vehicle to make the arrest. Several of the patrol vehicles had their emergency lights and at least one officer temporarily activated his siren. All law enforcement officers were in uniform.

The officers noticed one person in the front passenger seat of the vehicle and began to issue verbal commands. While issuing commands, a second person that they did not initially see, identified as Clint Dearman, sat up in the back seat. The officers gave commands not to move and for both men to keep their hands visible.

The passenger complied, but Dearman refused to do as instructed and suddenly climbed over the driver’s seat while armed with a pistol. Deputies from the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and an officer from the Spanish Fort Police Department responded by firing several times at Dearman. Dearman was struck several times and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The passenger was treated for a superficial wound at the nearby freestanding emergency room in Malbis and released. He is cooperating with this investigation. An autopsy will be conducted at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Members of the Baldwin County Major Crime Unit will continue conducting an independent inquiry into this incident. Once the investigation is complete, the facts will be presented to the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office and a grand jury.