‘Tone down rhetoric,’ encourage others, AG says
Rutledge addresses Arkansas Bar Association
In a week filled with tragic shootings, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge told the state’s legal community on Thursday that it was important to “tone down the rhetoric” and stressed the importance of unity.
“In light of this week’s recent events, beginning with our own Lt. Weatherford being killed, the tragedy in California and the assault on our nation’s leaders, let’s commit to ourselves to tone down the rhetoric. To encourage others that now is not a time for hate, now is a time for love. Let’s raise ourselves up and look out for members of our community. We all have things in common,” Rutledge said while addressing the Arkansas Bar Association’s annual meeting at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
On Monday, Newport police Lt. Patrick Weatherford, 41, was fatally shot while he and other officers responded to a reported vehicle break-in at a home and saw a man fleeing on a bicycle. When Weatherford gave chase, the suspect turned and fired several shots from a handgun at him. Weatherford later died at a Newport hospital.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers were targeted by a gunman while practicing for a baseball game in a suburban Virginia park, and a UPS employee opened fire at one of the company’s package delivery facilities in San Francisco, killing three co-workers and then himself.
Rutledge, who mostly discussed the responsibilities and duties of her office on Thursday, used part of her address as an opportunity to recognize Weatherford, a decorated law enforcement officer in the criminal investigations division at the Newport Police Department.
Rutledge met Weatherford in 2016, when she named him Jackson County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
“All Arkansans are saddened by the loss of Lt. Weatherford. Anytime one of our men or women in blue are tragically killed while protecting Arkansans our hearts are broken; they are broken for the widow, the child and the entire community.
“Lt. Weatherford was the true epitome of a class act law enforcement officer. His love for his community knew no bounds, and he will be remembered for that,” she said.
She urged her fellow lawyers to put aside their differences in political opinion and focus on the things that truly matter. She also said she strongly believes it is the role of Arkansas attorneys to protect the state’s core values.