Officers protest post by recruit
Vile, black ranks in LR tell chief
A black police officers association in Little Rock has raised concerns over a police recruit who it says used a racial slur in a past Facebook post, something authorities said is the subject of an ongoing internal affairs investigation.
In a letter addressed to Police Chief Kenton Buckner, the Little Rock Black Police Officers Association described the June 2013 Facebook post as “very careless, distasteful and demeaning.” The association, in the letter, identified the police recruit as Brandon Schiefelbein, who is white.
Schiefelbein’s post includes a racial slur offensive to blacks and displays a picture of a black man who appears to be sleeping on a bed, according to the letter.
“We will not sit silently and allow or wait for the City of Little Rock to unfold a welcome mat for this
recruit. We will not tolerate it!” according to the letter, dated Nov. 17. “His words have made it clear regarding his thoughts about African Americans. We will not allow him to act on how he feels about us.”
Calling for action, the letter urged Buckner to show Schiefelbein “to the exit door!”
Efforts to reach Schiefelbein were unsuccessful Friday.
When it comes to concerns from the association and the black community, the letter argues, city officials often have not held Buckner or City Manager Bruce Moore accountable. The association has publicly criticized Buckner’s leadership in the past — comments that have revealed a deepening tension between the the chief and the organization’s leadership.
Buckner said Friday that after he was notified of the Facebook post, he immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation. He said the department also has an ongoing internal investigation into a picture posted at the department’s 12th Street substation.
The picture, which was also a point of concern for the association, shows a stick figure pointing a gun at another figure, who has his knees on the ground and his hands around his back. The letter described the image as “inappropriate” to post and demanded an investigation.
A Police Department statement sent Friday afternoon said the agency expects the internal investigations to be completed early next week.
“Upon completion of the investigations Chief Buckner will review the material and make the appropriate decision considering all the facts given from the investigations,” according to the statement.
The Facebook post and hiring of Schiefelbein sparked questions from anti-violence activist Benny Johnson, who wondered why the recruit had been hired in the first place.
“And I just wonder how many more slipped through the crack,” he said, urging the department to fire the recruit.
Buckner, in an interview Friday, urged people to allow due process to take place before rushing to judgment, mentioning that the department must consider the context and circumstances around these situations.
The association said in the letter that the Facebook post “only exacerbates the current concerns of the African American community.”
The group also brought up former Little Rock police officer Josh Hastings, who shot and killed 15-year-old Bobby Moore, who was black. Hastings, who was fired from the department, has since been found liable for the teenager’s 2012 death in a civil lawsuit.
According to previous media reports, Hastings had said he once attended a Ku Klux Klan meeting when he was in high school.
The association has previously criticized Buckner’s leadership. This summer, the association sent a letter to the city’s Board of Directors that called for an investigation into the “discrimination, inequities, and disparaging treatment of minority officers and supervisors” under Buckner’s leadership. The letter also alleged that black officers regularly are disrespected by white officers and that black supervisors are only allowed to decide discipline “to a certain degree.”
The letter accused Buckner of being “very reluctant” to discipline white officers and supervisors while having “no hesitation” for disciplining black officers and supervisors.
That letter prompted a departmentwide memo from Buckner, who wrote that disagreeing with agency decisions is not the same as being discriminated against. In his response, the chief wrote that he works to be consistent and fair in his decision-making while keeping in mind the best interests of the city and the department.
Specifically, Buckner argued that criticism of discipline is often based on partial information and rumors and that discipline is a subjective area of his job as chief.
In August, the association again criticized the chief, this time over his absence at some anti-violence events in Little Rock.