Jacksonville’s benched chief of police is out

Citing a section of the state constitution, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a past false-report conviction disqualifies Jacksonville’s sidelined police chief from holding that position.

Geoffrey Herweg, who was sworn in as Jacksonville’s police chief last spring and served in that capacity for a few months, pleaded guilty in 2002 to giving a false report to a police officer in Texas.

In its 6-1 decision Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court said the conviction was a “crime of dishonesty” and disqualified Herweg from serving as police chief under Article 5, Section 9 of the Arkansas Constitution. The section prevents a person convicted of an “infamous crime” from holding “any office of trust or profit in this State.”

Months into Herweg’s appointment as chief, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray removed him from the post pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by Jacksonville Alderman Tara Smith. The lawsuit challenged the legality of Herweg serving as police chief under the state’s constitution.

The state Supreme Court affirmed Gray’s decision.

Herweg, 54, pleaded guilty in 2002 to giving a false report to a police officer in Texas. Court records said Herweg was driving on Christmas Eve in 2000 and “became involved in an accident” that damaged a car and a house.

According to court records, Herweg left the scene and told authorities the vehicle had been stolen. Investigators determined that Herweg had wrecked and abandoned the vehicle and knowingly lied about it.

Before Herweg was sworn in, Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher defended the decision to hire him. The mayor said Herweg would be the most educated person to lead the department and that Herweg had a long list of credentials.

“I am staking my credibility on this man’s credibility,” Fletcher said.

Jacksonville’s City Attorney Robert Bamburg now serves as director of the Police Department, according to agency spokesman April Kiser. Fletcher appointed Bamburg to the position days after Gray’s decision to remove Herweg as police chief.

When asked Thursday afternoon if there were plans to appoint a new police chief, Kiser said City Hall had not informed the department on the topic. The department has 59 sworn officers and is authorized for 80, she said.

According to the state Supreme Court ruling, the city contends that, under the state constitution, an “infamous crime” includes misdemeanor offenses “related to the election process” and not to an out- of- state conviction that occurred years ago.

Yet, in the ruling, the court concluded that “Herweg’s conviction of giving a false report to a police officer is a crime of dishonesty committed with the intent to deceive and, as such, qualifies as an ‘infamous crime.’”