Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Jim Sell was shot and killed during a traffic stop in front of the Brass Door Motel at 621 East Main Street.
He had stopped a vehicle driven by a violent assault suspect whom police had been searching for. The assault occurred at a New Bedford, Massachusetts, bar during the evening of February 1st, 2006. In that incident, the suspect struck two patrons with a small hatchet and then shot and wounded both men and a third man before escaping. The hatchet was found outside the bar, but the firearm had not been located.
The suspect, who eluded a nationwide manhunt for 1,400 miles and two days, was pulled over for a traffic violation in the parking lot of a motel by Officer Sell at approximately 2:30 pm. The suspect immediately opened fire, striking Officer Sell once in the arm and twice in the head, killing him. The suspect then drove around the motel and returned to Officer Sell to retrieve his driver's license.
As the suspect sped off, a motel worker called 911 to report the shooting. The worker gave police a detailed description of the suspect's vehicle. A Baxter County sheriff's deputy located the suspect's car on Arkansas State Highway 201 and a high-speed pursuit followed.
Officers deployed spike strips in an attempt to stop the vehicle. When the car struck the strips a short time later, the suspect lost control and crashed into a parked car, coming to a rest facing pursuing officers. The suspect then shot and killed his female passenger.
Still seated, the suspect next opened fire on police through his window. Officers from the Arkansas State Police and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office returned fire. The suspect was transported from the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. It was later determined that he committed suicide during the gun battle.
Officer Sell was a U.S. Navy veteran. He had served with the Blytheville Police Department for 27 years before retiring as a captain in 2000. He served as a part-time officer with the Gassville Police Department for three years.
He had stopped a vehicle driven by a violent assault suspect whom police had been searching for. The assault occurred at a New Bedford, Massachusetts, bar during the evening of February 1st, 2006. In that incident, the suspect struck two patrons with a small hatchet and then shot and wounded both men and a third man before escaping. The hatchet was found outside the bar, but the firearm had not been located.
Still seated, the suspect next opened fire on police through his window. Officers from the Arkansas State Police and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office returned fire. The suspect was transported from the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. It was later determined that he committed suicide during the gun battle.
I first met Jim the day he showed up to be interviewed and take the Blytheville Police Department civil service examination. I was just leaving the police department when he entered the lobby and asked me to direct him to the room where the exams were being given. I remember he was wearing a black suit with short trousers and the redest socks I'd ever seen. Ha! He was quite a guy. A very outgoing and amiable man. He always had a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone he met. He worked 27 years for our department before retiring as a patrol captain. I was lucky enough to have run in to Jim at a local restaurant and we had lunch together shortly before he retired. Jim was a fine man, and he was one of the most thoughtful and generous men I have known. I am told that shortly before he was killed he had personally found and paid for a good used truck as replacement for one for his friends teen daughter after her truck had broke down. That was the kind of man Jim Sell was. May he rest in peace.
Ron Evans July 31st, 2023
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- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Sell gave the Gassville Police Department 30 years.
Thank you for your service to the Gassville community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
James Walter Sell served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Officer James Walter Sell is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In AR, 249 of 372 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 66.9% of this state's fallen. That is 12.7 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Walter Sell's cause is highlighted.
How James Walter Sell Compares
Offender Outcome
Committed suicide
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. James Walter Sell is highlighted in Feb.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. James Walter Sell was killed by handgun; 9 mm.