State officials have reversed their initial statement concerning Jonesboro Police officer Vincent Parks who died after training at an Arkansas police academy on July 17.
J.R. Hakins is the new director of the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. Hakins told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Aug. 26 that Parks may have engaged in "some activity" before his training at the academy at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock.
The statement conflicts with the commission's previous news release that said Parks did not engage in any physical activity. That previous statement was disputed by Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott and state Representative Frances Cavanaugh of Walnut Ridge.
Some state lawmakers have questioned the circumstances surrounding Parks' death that occurred during excessive humid conditions. Dylan Cooper, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said that the heat index at the time was around 106. However, Parks' official cause of his death has not yet been released.
A criminal investigation into Parks' death is also underway.
