Civilian panel OK’d to take stock of police
LR mayor breaks board tie; aim is building public trust
Little Rock will establish a civilian board to review the actions and investigations of the city’s Police Department after a vote by city directors Tuesday night.
City directors were split evenly on the ordinance at their meeting. Mayor Frank Scott Jr. broke the tie by voting yes.
The five-member civilian board will review police actions and investigations in the areas of corruption, discrimination and use of force resulting in injury or death, according to the legislation.
Members will receive training overseen by Police Chief Keith Humphrey, the mayor said, and have the ability to call in forensic witnesses. Its funding will come from the city’s existing budget for boards and commissions.
Both of Little Rock’s police unions — the Fraternal Order of Police and the Black Police Officers Association — opposed the ordinance. The mayor and other supporters of the measure said it would enhance police-community relations.
Scott has pushed for an independent board of Little Rock residents to review police conduct since before he took office Jan. 1. He distributed the latest version of the ordinance to city directors last week.
Some city directors said Tuesday that they received about 40 pages of new information from City Attorney Tom Carpenter about the ordinance just before the meeting started. Ward 4 representative Capi Peck initially called for the ordinance to be tabled for that reason, and although the motion was not seconded, others on the city board said they felt adequate time had not been given to drafting and discussing the legislation.
“I will not be supporting this because I do not think that this board has had an opportunity to look at this,” at-large City Director Joan Adcock said. “Our questions have not been answered until we walked in here.”
At-large representative Dean Kumpuris shared a similar sentiment, though he said he was supportive of the idea.
“There’s an old saying about measure twice and cut once, and I don’t think we are doing that with this ordinance,” Kumpuris said.
Chad Cumming, an attorney speaking on behalf of the two police unions, argued that there was not a need for a civilian review board and criticized the ordinance’s lack of a legal standard of review. Cumming penned a letter outlining the unions’ concerns to the city board Monday.
“The big thing that we’re concerned about … is that there’s so much of this that is not finished, and the devil is in the lack of details,” Cumming said. “There’s so many things that are not spelled out.”
The ordinance got support from state Sen. Joyce Elliott. Her district includes southwest Little Rock, an area “where a group of people have more interaction with law enforcement than any other ZIP code,” she said.
Elliott urged the board to vote yes on the ordinance, citing a National Justice Institute study that found that such boards ensure the investigative process is fair and thorough, and are an opportunity for local elected officials to demonstrate their concern for eliminating police misconduct.
“Nobody’s pretending this is a perfect process, but nor are the processes that we have right now,” Elliott said.
Gun safety advocate Eve Jorgensen and attorney Amy Pritchard also spoke in support of the ordinance.
Ward 3 City Director Kathy Webb said the ordinance was an opportunity to foster trust and transparency.
“I have faith in the mayor, and I have faith in the city board, and I have faith that with the appointments that you will vet those appointees, and that we will vet those appointees,” Webb said. “This ordinance gives us an opportunity to do that, to build bridges and to build trust.”
Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix also was supportive.
“I think that everybody up here has got to give this a chance,” Hendrix said. “God bless this board if they tear this down, and I will pray for them tonight.”
Peck ultimately voted for the ordinance, saying there had been some confusion about what the program would entail and that she was “just going to have to trust” that it would work out.
Along with Peck, Hendrix, Ward 2’s Ken Richardson, Webb and Ward 6’s Doris Wright voted for the ordinance. Lance Hines of Ward 5, Kumpuris, at-large City Director Gene Fortson, Adcock and Vice Mayor B.J. Wyrick, who represents Ward 7, voted no.
Scott acknowledged during the discussion that the matter was contentious, but he said he respected Little Rock police officers and that Carpenter would make sure the board’s bylaws, when developed, are in line with state law.
“That doesn’t mean that we all agree on it, but it’s legal, ethical and constitutional,” Scott said.
The board did not pass the ordinance’s emergency clause, meaning the measure will not go into effect for 30 days.
“We have 30 days to educate the public,” Scott said. “We will make sure that happens.”