PB crime stays in spotlight after reversal of chief’s firing
On Wednesday, Mayor Shirley Washington terminated Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant, citing an uptick in violent crime and a loss of confidence in his ability to address problems plaguing the city. In a brief statement issued by her office, Washington said that Assistant Police Chief Ricky Whitmore would assume command of the department until a replacement could be found.
Two days later, on Friday, Washington sent out another statement from her office saying that Sergeant would be reinstated to his position. During that two days, five City Council members signed on to a resolution to encourage the mayor to reinstate Sergeant and called for a special meeting that was to have taken place Monday night to consider the matter. At least two council members said they only heard of the resolution when the meeting was announced and were never asked if they would co-sponsor the measure, which, if passed, would have been nonbinding.
In a telephone interview the day of Sergeant’s firing, Washington said her decision was made because of an increase in traffic infractions including drag racing, late night car caravans throughout the city, large groups congregating on parking lots and a recent spike in violent crime in the city, including a partic
ularly violent August. She said Sergeant’s failure to address incidents in the city had resulted in citizens calling her office to complain that nothing was being done.
The city recorded its 18th homicide of the year Aug. 14 when officers responded to a report of a shooting at 4316 W. Burnett St. and found 51-yearold Stephen Carter dead in the residence. Iman Jackson, 31, of Pine Bluff was arrested Aug. 17 in Carter’s death and is being held in the Jefferson County jail on a capital murder charge.
One day earlier, the city recorded its 16th and 17th homicides of 2020 after two men were shot at a home at 101 W. 17th Ave. According to police, officers responded to a report of gunfire just before 1 a.m. and found 39-year-old Christopher Gates shot to death on the front porch and 18-yearold Charles Washington Jr. suffering gunshot wounds. Washington died during surgery later that morning at Jefferson Regional Medical Center.
The mayor’s decision to terminate Sergeant also came three days after seven people were wounded in a shooting that occurred about 3 a.m. at 2901 W. 28th Ave. after a disturbance in the parking lot of a gas station. According to police, a witness reported a large gathering of people who were yelling, followed by a number of gunshots.
Several vehicles, the gas station and a restaurant were damaged by gunfire. Police said they have no suspect or motive in the incident.
Washington said what appeared to her to be a lack of targeted enforcement by the Police Department to address the problems had convinced her that it was time to make a change in leadership.
“He wasn’t, in my mind, proactive as a chief should be in solving crime,” she said. “If you see something and you know there’s a potential for certain things to happen on this weekend, on these days, or in these areas, then you should strategize and plan for it. He would say he was going to do it but it never happened. There was only active law enforcement, really getting out there and getting engaged, after a serious incident.”
Washington said violent incidents have been on the increase in the city in incidents that don’t always make the news.
“Every day it’s getting worse and worse,” she said. “Houses are getting shot up in incidents that don’t make the papers. A lot of the things we are seeing don’t make the news.”
On Thursday, five council members — Ivan Whitfield, Steven Mays, Lloyd Holcomb Jr., Donald Hatchett and Bruce Lockett — sponsored a resolution to encourage Washington to reinstate the police chief, and called for a special meeting Monday night to consider the resolution.
On Friday, Washington’s office issued a statement saying that Sergeant, after meeting with the mayor and agreeing to some changes, would be reinstated and would serve out the time remaining for him to be eligible for retirement.
Sergeant, a 25-year veteran of the department, has been police chief since 2018, succeeding Whitfield upon the former chief’s retirement. Counting the time he spent working as a correctional officer before joining the force, Sergeant was nine months short of full retirement eligibility.
Reached by phone Saturday, Whitfield applauded the mayor’s decision, but he said he had not talked to her about the matter.
“I’m proud she did it,” he said. “I didn’t see it coming, but I’m glad it worked out that way.”
Washington said on Saturday that within an hour of announcing Sergeant’s termination, she began receiving calls and messages from people, many of them angry over Sergeant’s firing.
Whitfield said all of the attention focused on the matter likely played a role in Washington’s reconsideration.
“I’m sure she received calls, as did I and others, and I’m sure she received input from the community,” he said. “There was a lot of encouragement for her to get it back on the track and that’s what she did.”
Washington said, however, in spite of the pressure, that her decision ultimately came down to the matter of Sergeant’s retirement and her belief that keeping him on until he can retire was the right thing to do.
“I thought on my own career and it seemed like it took forever to get to 20 years,” she said. “From that 10 it took forever it seemed like to get to 20, but to get to 28 and full retirement it felt like it took longer to get there than it took to get to 20. So I had to think about it, this man is eight months from 28. How devastating can that be?”
The final decision, she said, was made after she met with Sergeant on Friday to discuss reinstatement. She said that she communicated to the chief that moving forward she expects a clear line of communication between the police chief and the mayor, a condition which she said he agreed to.
Sergeant confirmed that he had talked with Washington on Friday and that she had offered to reinstate him. He also confirmed that the mayor had voiced concerns over racing and crowds congregating late at night, sometimes leading to confrontations requiring police intervention.
“Some of the same initiatives we had been employing to address those issues, those are things we will continue to do to try and stop those things from happening,” he said. “Particularly with the young people and the inappropriate driving they may do.”
He said he will employ more proactive measures to address drugs, gun crime and violent crime as well.
In spite of her reversal, Washington did not rule out later changes in the department, and said that Sergeant’s tenure will be, by mutual agreement, a temporary arrangement.
“When he comes back we’re going to have a sit-down, a meeting of the minds,” she said. “He’s going to give me a letter indicating that he will be leaving after nine months that will go in his file, and that will give me a chance to begin a national search, and it will give him the opportunity to retire with dignity.”