Jacksonville seeks dismissal of hiring suit

Jacksonville City Attorney Robert Bamburg last week asked the Pulaski County Circuit Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the city over its recent hiring of a police chief.

The lawsuit, filed April 26 by Alderman Tara Smith, claims that Police Chief Geoffrey Herweg is ineligible for the position under the Arkansas Constitution. The suit cites an amendment that bans anyone convicted of an “infamous crime,” which includes a crime of dishonesty, from holding an office of public trust.

Herweg, who was sworn in as police chief April 14, was convicted of misdemeanor counts of filing a false police report and failure to report an accident in Williamson County, Texas in 2002. Court filings show Herweg crashed a vehicle into a home on Christmas Eve in 2000, abandoned the vehicle and lied to police about it being stolen.

Bamburg, in the city’s motion for dismissal, argued that the statute at issue only applies to elected officials and that Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher has the power, under Arkansas law, to appoint and remove any department head in the city.

“Plaintiff’s allegations that Mayor Fletcher acted without authority or in violation of [Article 5, Section 9 of the state constitution] is without merit, for the Jacksonville Police Chief is not an elected position, will not be an elected position, and the constitutional limitations on eligibility for elected candidates/officials cited by Plaintiff simply do not apply to appointed positions,” the motion states.

Bamburg had not responded to a request for comment late Friday.

Fletcher hired Herweg, 53, after a national search for a new police chief that yielded 31 candidates from 14 states. Herweg was chosen over Chief Deputy Kenneth Scott of the Orleans Parish, La., sheriff ’s office. Both men have more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement.

Fletcher said Herweg was honest about his past during the interview process. He has repeatedly defended his decision to hire Herweg and accused Smith of opposing the hire for personal and political reasons.

Smith, who was elected to her first term as an alderman in November 2014, has denied that claim.

Smith’s lawsuit lists Herweg, Fletcher and City Clerk-Treasurer Susan Davitt as defendants.

It seeks an emergency temporary restraining order against Herweg to remove him as police chief on the grounds that his record of dishonesty jeopardizes police investigations and public safety.

The suit states that any salary payments made to Herweg — his salary is $81,600 per year — have been “illegal and improper” and seeks for taxpayers to be reimbursed.