Arkansas School Shooting
      February 28 2001 at 12:40 PM

     My name is Greg Lovett, I am a Sergeant at the Prairie Grove Police Department in Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
     On the morning of May 11, 2000 I was on duty as the School Resource Officer at the Prairie Grove Schools.
     At about 10:00 AM I received a call about a student walking toward the school acting strange.
     While looking for the student I was assisted by the school superintendent and one of the elementary principals.
     We located the student hiding in a hay field a couple of hundred yards from the Lower Elementary (grades K-thru 3).

     At the time we located the student recess was in progress.
     While walking across an open hay field I kept calling to the juvenile, because he was crawling in the
     tall grass towards the school. At a distance of less that 50 feet the student stood up and shot me
     three times with a .20 gauge pump shotgun. The first round struck me in the face, the next two hit
     me in the left side. The student then hid back in the grass, reloaded and shot me two more times. I
     returned fire only after being shot three times. The juvenile was wounded one time in the stomach. In
     the aftermath that followed, first aid was applied to the student and while waiting for the ambulance
     one of the principals asked the student (Michael Nichols) what he was doing.
     Michael stated "I was going to kill that Son of a Bitch Dalmut".
     Mr Dalmut was Michaels Jr. High Principal and the "Dispute" was over an incident on the bus.

     It was testified to in court by Michael's "Doctors" that he thought the only way to get Mr. Dalmut to listen to
     him was to confront him with a gun. It was also testified to in court that Michael knew who I was when he shot me,
     as Michael had been a student in several of the Drug & Alcohol Classes that I have taught at the school during
     the last two years. Taking into account the defense's claim of "Temporary Insanity" there is more to the story.

     Several weeks after the shooting while Michael was in the Juvenile Detention Center in Fayetteville Arkansas,
     Michael and another juvenile and an intake officer were talking about what they had done to get into trouble.
     Michael stated "All I did was shoot a Pig". Keep in mind that this was weeks after the shooting and
     after several court hearings. Michael was found guilty of "2 Counts of "Attempted Capitol Murder" and
     sent to a youth Camp run by the Division of Youth Services in Arkansas.

     Now comes the point of the story. Michael is set to be reviewed for release in March. I have spoken
     to several different organizations in the area and have asked them to send a letter to the Director to
     oppose Michael Nichols release. Michael has been in custody for about 6 months since being found
     guilty. I am asking anyone who reads this, who also opposes Michaels release and any future juveniles
     like him to please send a letter to the Director of Youth Services. Please make your letter professional,
     and a letter concerning "Public Safety" will be more useful than a letter concerning the emotional
     issues involved. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Listed below is the name and address to
     send your letters. They need to be in the mail by March 5th.

     Mail To;
     Russell Rigsby-Director
     Division of Youth Services
     P.O. Box 1437, Slot 450
     105 West Capitol
     Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
 

 I'd appreciate it if you took a minute and wrote to Russell Rigsby.
 Especially if you have kids of your own.
 Greg Lovett took FIVE shotgun blasts protecting those kids, and the little bastard
 who shot him seems to think he's hot shit, bragging "I shot a pig."

 If you have kids, consider if karma.
 If you send that letter, your kids will be safer at school.