Cold Case Chronicles: Tragic death of West Fork police chief in 1981 saw accomplice in killing die in prison
- Dennis McCaslin
- May 26, 2025
- 2 min read
RAGIC
On March 20, 1981, West Fork Police Chief Paul Herman Mueller was killed in the line of duty on Highway 71 in Washington County, Arkansas. The 38-year-old chief’s death during a routine traffic stop was a tragic event for the small community of West ForK.
The incident began when a clerk at the Western Service Station reported a driver, identified as Billy Gale Henry, appearing intoxicated.
Chief Mueller, who had served six years with the West Fort Police Department, stopped a southbound vehicle approximately three-quarters of a mile from the station, near the junction with State Highway 71.
Unbeknownst to Mueller, Henry and his accomplice, Rodney Britton, had robbed a Pizza Hut in Fayetteville at gunpoint less than an hour earlier. Both suspects had prior criminal histories, with one recently released from a federal penitentiary.
During the stop, Henry and Britton opened fire, striking Mueller in the chest. Despite his mortal wounds, Mueller returned fire, wounding Henry. Britton fled the scene, leaving the injured Henry behind.
After closing the station, the clerk who made the initial report drove south and found Mueller’s patrol car with its blue lights flashing. Mueller lay dead in front of the vehicle, with Henry wounded on a nearby embankment. Henry survived his injuries and was taken into custody.
Three days later, on March 23, 1981, off-duty Fayetteville police officer Jim Schuster located Britton hiding in the loft of a farmhouse. During the encounter, Britton and Schuster exchanged gunfire. Schuster was struck twice by bullets but survived. Britton was killed at the scene.
Henry, having survived the initial shootout, faced trial and was convicted of capital murder for Mueller’s death.
He was initially sentenced to death, but the Arkansas Supreme Court later reversed his sentence, commuting it to life without parole. Henry died in prison in 1994.
Born on August 27, 1942, in Arkansas, Paul Herman Mueller was the son of Richard H. “Dick” Mueller and Mable C. Mueller.
He married Myrrah Elizabeth Harris on January 4, 1969, and they had two children. Mueller was laid to rest at West Fork Cemetery in Washington County.
