Force use probed at youth lockup
Officer loses job; 2 more on leave
The Pulaski County sheriff’s office is investigating an incident at the Pulaski County Juvenile Detention Center that resulted in one detention center officer being fired and two others being placed on administrative leave.
According to a release from the county government, the three officers subdued a resident using force on Monday.
The resident had been determined to be in “good condition” after examination by medical personnel.
The following day the center’s interim director, Rodney Shepherd, interviewed the resident after a report was filed about the incident. The resident told Shepherd that the officers had used excessive force.
Shepherd began an internal investigation, notified the Arkansas State Police and placed the officers on leave, according to the release.
The internal investigation found that one of the officers used “violent and unacceptable language” toward the resident, and was fired Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Pulaski County said the officer’s language “threatened harm towards the resident.”
The state police transferred the case to the Pulaski County sheriff’s office for investigation.
“It’s really early into the investigation,” sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said. “I don’t believe that the juvenile’s injured or anything like that, but we’re going over the complaint and interviewing witnesses to see actually what happened. I believe there was also some video that we’re trying to obtain.”
Burk said he believed it was security camera footage.
“We’re just looking at the use of force to see what happened and if a battery had occurred,” Burk said. “It’s really early into it to say something like a battery had occurred. It’s not that
clear yet.”
The Juvenile Detention Center falls under the authority of Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde.
“Protecting juveniles in our care and treating them with respect is not just an expectation of our juvenile officers — it’s a requirement, and we have zero tolerance for anything less,” said Hyde in a statement. “We appreciate the swift action and diligence of the Arkansas State Police and the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, and we will continue to assist however we can in order to ensure a swift and just resolution. …
“What we’ve learned from this incident is that de-escalation requires regular training. Therefore, we have contacted the Sheriff’s Department about enrolling our officers in the department’s crisis intervention training. Once training begins, we will continue to enroll officers until all have been trained.”
The Pulaski County spokesperson said that the detention center has 22 officers and that Shepherd and the center’s assistant director will also take part in the de-escalation training.
Burk said the training in question is a “basic crisis intervention class” based on state-wide curriculum.
A document provided by the county said the crisis intervention training is supposed to last 40 hours and be taught over five consecutive days.
The training “shall emphasize understanding of behavioral impairments and mental illnesses and shall incorporate the development of communication skills, practical experience, and role-playing.”
It also involves mental health professionals, consumers, and family members in classroom and onsite visits.
Burk, who has taken part in the training, said the experience “opened your eyes” to a lot regarding responding to people experiencing a crisis, including people who are bipolar or have autism.
He said the training instructs one on “how to recognize that and how to give them space, and know what might upset them, and to keep them calm, and de-escalate it so you can resolve the situation without having a physical confrontation or making an arrest.
“A lot of time you can avoid that if you know what to look for and how to interact with them.”