The federal agent who shot and killed the CEO of the Little Rock airport during an early-morning raid in March was justified in his use of force, an Arkansas prosecutor said Friday, ruling out any charges.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had executed a search warrant at the home of the director, Bryan Malinowski, 53, on suspicion that he had repeatedly sold guns without a license.
After officers entered the home, which is on a quiet cul-de-sac in Little Rock, Malinowski fired at them and shot one officer in the foot, authorities said. Another officer returned fire and shot Malinowski in the head. Two days later, Malinowski died in a hospital.
His death was met with outrage by his family, friends and gun rights supporters in Arkansas and beyond, who believed the March 19 raid was ill-conceived and a case of government overreach. The raid also shocked residents and lawmakers across the state, who wondered how a respected official could have been the target of an early morning raid.
Bryan Malinowski’s death was met with outrage by his family, friends and gun rights supporters in Arkansas and beyond, who believed the raid was ill-conceived and a case of government overreach. Credit…Clinton Airport
The ATF said shortly after the raid that it had been investigating Malinowski for months after suspecting that he had been selling large quantities of firearms at gun shows without a license, sometimes shortly after purchasing them. The agency also found that Malinowski had purchased more than 150 weapons from 2021 to February 2024, including several of the same models; An ATF affidavit did not specify exactly how many of them he had sold.
According to the affidavit, several weapons traced to Malinowski were recovered at the crime scenes.
Local Sixth Judicial District Attorney Will Jones said in a statement That video recorded by the Little Rock Police Department, which assisted in the raid, had revealed new details about what happened that morning.
According to Jones, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the video showed that at 6:02 a.m., a patrol officer turned on his vehicle’s emergency lights and siren “to announce the presence of authorities.” At that point, ATF agents standing outside Malinowski’s door “began playing a series of knocks” and announced his presence, Jones said, citing the recording.
Twenty-eight seconds after knocking, officers used a battering ram to open the door, he said.
Malinowski’s wife, Maer, told The New York Times in an interview that the couple had heard loud noises outside their bedroom door that morning. Malinowski told his wife to “stay back” and reached into a drawer for a gun, she said, before walking out into the hallway. She walked behind him and they saw figures in the dark, Malinowski said.
Prosecutors said the agents wore khaki pants and dark-colored shirts that had the ATF shield printed on one side and “ATF police” on the other. They also wore bulletproof vests with the agency’s initials.
About 16 seconds after officers walked through the door, Malinowski pointed his gun at an officer. That agent “dropped to the ground and rolled to avoid possible shots,” prosecutors said.
At the same time, a second agent entered the home. Malinowski raised his gun toward that officer and shot him in the foot before the officer returned fire, hitting Malinowski, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The names of the agents were not released. Jones said in the statement that “given the totality of the circumstances,” the second officer “had a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary to defend himself” and the other officer on the ground.
Bud Cummins, an attorney for Malinowski’s family, said in a statement that the new details from the prosecutor’s office raised a question: “How long is it reasonable to wait for someone to answer your front door at 6 a.m. in response to unexplained noises?” hitting on a 3000 square foot, completely insulated house?
“Let’s pray that the answer is not 28 seconds,” he said, adding, “This is far from over.”
Malinowski had served as CEO of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport since 2019. Friends say he considered gun sales a hobby and sincerely believed that, as a private seller, he was in compliance with federal law. .
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