Officers deny wrongdoing in Rock arrest

FAYETTEVILLE — Two Centerton police officers have denied wrongdoing alleged in a lawsuit filed by a former high school football player over his arrest.

Terrance Rock sued Centerton and a number of police officers in Washington County Circuit Court in April alleging wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution, violation of due process, invasion of privacy and other state and federal civil rights claims.

Attorneys for officers Michael Stuart and Christopher William Cummings denied the allegations and asked a judge to dismiss the suit for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

The city recently filed a similar answer.

Centerton police arrested Rock, who was a senior, at Fayetteville High School on Nov. 15 in connection with residential burglary and theft of property, both felonies. He was released from the Benton County Jail the next day on a $10,000 bond.

Centerton Police Chief Cody Harper later acknowledged officers wrongfully arrested Rock and apologized in a Nov. 18 news release. Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green dismissed the charges against Rock and sealed the case in early December.

The lawsuit seeks $750,000 in damages on the due process claim and unspecified compensatory and exemplary damages on the other claims.

The arrest came from a Sept. 25 incident in which a Centerton man claimed three teens stole items from his home, according to a probable cause affidavit. The man reported speakers, a cellphone charger and two watches taken.