In the out door

Chief firing, rehiring marker for next top cop

There’s something to be said for tact. Last week, Mayor Shirley Washington fired Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant in what seemed to be an allof-a-sudden move. In a lot of places, that might have been handled differently, as in quieter and less dramatic.

And then a few days later, she had a change of heart and reinstated Sergeant. Again, that firing-rehiring whiplash might have been avoided. The optics of such a thing don’t necessarily burnish Pine Bluff’s image.

All that said, the drama highlights volumes about where the mayor’s head is on violent acts within the city. A story in The Commercial yesterday gave a good rundown on what’s been going on of late. August particularly stuck out, and perhaps it was the tipping point.

In the eighth month, Pine Bluff recorded its 16th, 17th and 18th homicides. The dead included a 51-year-old man, a 39-year-old man and an 18-year-old man.

Another incident was also very disturbing. On a business’ parking lot, there was a large group of people. Witnesses said there was yelling and then gunshots. In all, seven people were wounded. Seven! In addition, a nearby gas station and restaurant were damaged by the gunfire.

How seven people could have gotten shot and no one killed is amazing. In a situation like that, it would not have be surprising if all seven had lost their lives.

This all happened on 28th Avenue at around 3 a.m. OK, picture that. Wee hours. Main thoroughfare in town. A bunch of people. Wouldn’t there have been—shouldn’t there have been—police driving up and down 28th who would have seen gobs of people gathering on private property? Wouldn’t the next step for the police have been to shoo them away? Couldn’t at least that shoot-’em-up have been avoided?

Based on that jaw-dropping episode, we don’t really blame Mayor Washington for hitting the roof and sending the chief packing, especially, as she says, since she’s been trying to get more action and accountability out of the police department.

In the end, Washington cooled off. The reason for the reinstatement, according to the mayor, was that she received a lot of calls from citizens who were encouraging her to reverse course. Chief Sergeant is a few months from being eligible for retirement, a point driven home to Washington from her own experience as a long-toiling teacher in the public school system. The compromise, she said, was to offer Sergeant his job back with the understanding—a signed understanding, actually—that he will leave after nine months.

So where does that leave the city? Well, perhaps with a bit of temporary black eye, but overall, the mayor’s action draws a line in the sand for future occupants of that office and, really, for the police department as a whole.

She said she will take the next few months and start a nationwide search for a new chief. After this point, no one can say that the mayor just takes what is given her in the way of policing effort. Maybe Sergeant’s efforts could have been considered good by some yardsticks. But now we know that, at the very least, Mayor Washington wants something better. We find that a refreshing place to start when it comes to sound policy on public safety.