Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Damage tallied in LR protests
Most costs tied to fire at pharmacist group’s building
Nearly two months after a series of nightly protests against racial injustice occurred at the Arkansas Capitol, the total damage to nearby structures has been estimated at half a million dollars, largely because of a fire.
Beginning on May 30, demonstrators in Little Rock — like those in hundreds of other cities across the U.S. — took to the streets after George Floyd died while being arrested by Minneapolis police on May 25.
Police in Little Rock used tear gas and chemical irritants to disperse crowds of protesters on multiple occasions, and on the night of June 2, dozens of demonstrators were arrested in the city and charged with obstructing governmental operations.
Buildings damaged included a state-owned office complex at 501 Woodlane Drive and structures east of the Capitol and closer to the heart of downtown. The state Capitol grounds also were damaged.
The most significant destruction near the Capitol was at the offices of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association.
On the night of June 1, a fire charred the association’s building at 417 S. Victory St.
In an interview last week, John Vinson, the association’s CEO, estimated the damage to the building at between $250,000 and $500,000. He said the association is still working on a final cost estimate with its insurance company, architect and claims adjuster.
Vinson said he expects the association’s insurance provider to cover the repair costs.
The interior of the 2,700-square-foot building
had smoke and water damage throughout, Vinson said, but the fire damage was limited to the front part of the building where the blaze is thought to have started.
He did not know last week whether the association will repair the structure or build a new one, but he said the association plans to stay at the same location near the Capitol.
A copy of a June 4 incident report from the Little Rock Fire Department, provided by a spokesman for the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, listed the official cause of the blaze as “under investigation.” However, a narrative included in the report described the fire as “resulting from civil disturbance.”
Vinson said a rock was found inside the building and that it appeared to have been thrown through the front window. A nearby piece of furniture was “charred to the bone,” Vinson said.
“We think it was intentionally set on fire. That’s just my opinion,” Vinson said. “But that’s not in the fire report.”
On the Capitol grounds, protesters sprayed graffiti. The estimated cost of the damage at the Capitol is $20,000 to $21,000, according to Kevin Niehaus, a spokesman for the Arkansas secretary of state’s office.
Approximately $5,000 of that amount was spent on labor costs, Niehaus said. He did not respond when asked to describe the type of damage that was the most costly to repair.
Some windows of the state-owned Winthrop Rockefeller Building at 501 Woodlane Drive were shattered during the protests.
Alex Johnston, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services, provided a breakdown of the damage to that building, which indicated a total repair cost of $10,323.61.
That figure does not include the cost of additional labor provided by two Division of Building Authority employees, Johnston said.
The Arkansas State University System leases space in the 501 Woodlane Drive building, according to Jeff Hankins, an ASU System spokesman. But because its offices are on the sixth floor, there was no damage to ASU System property.
Other buildings that had windows broken included the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Arkansas at 1300 W. Capitol Ave.
“It’s just windows. Windows can be replaced; lives can’t,” party Chairman Michael John Gray said June 1.
Betty Anderson, the owner of Frances Flower Shop at 1222 W. Capitol Ave., said windows of her store on the front and side were broken. It cost her $1,600 to replace them, she said. Another broken window, which faces a parking lot, is still boarded up. Anderson expects that repair to also cost $1,600.
Additionally, Anderson estimated that she lost less than $200 worth of items when shards of glass flew into the store.
In an interview Friday, Anderson said the damage to her store was “more of an inconvenience.”