ALEXANDER — A DWI checkpoint in Alexander on Aug. 18 resulted in 13 arrests, four warrants being issued and the firing of a Shannon Hills police officer.
The Shannon Hills Police Department, along with officers from Benton and Haskell, assisted the Alexander Police Department in a traffic stop at Arkansas 111 and Azalea Road in Alexander on that Saturday night.
However, Shannon Hills Police Chief Terry Mullenax said Officer Scott Chaloner made public comments about the police operation that hampered the effectiveness of the checkpoint.
Mullenax said the officer threatened to shut down the checkpoint and gave Alexander residents tips on routes to take to avoid the operation.
The chief said Chaloner also posted a warning on his Facebook page, saying, “If you live in Alexander and you are drinking and planning on driving, get yourself a designated driver. If you don’t and you get out on the streets, you will wish you hadn’t.”
Mayor James Smith said he fully supports the chief’s decision to fire Chaloner.
After his dismissal Tuesday, Chaloner posted on Facebook that he would contest his firing.
“I do not feel I have done anything wrong,” he said.
During the traffic checkpoint in Alexander, 39 officers from the various departments combined to make one arrest for driving while intoxicated and three for public intoxication, and four people were charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, according to a report issued by the Benton Police Department.
The press release from Lt. Kevin Russell said one person refused to be tested for driving while intoxicated.
Four people questioned at the checkpoint had outstanding warrants, police said. There was one each for Benton, Bryant and Saline County, and one person was wanted on a federal warrant.
The checkpoint also turned up three drivers with suspended driver’s licenses and three more with no driver’s license at all.
Alexander Police Chief Horace Walters called the operation a success.
“There were 29 deaths attributed to drunk drivers in the last few weeks in Arkansas,” Walters said.
Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane took part in the night operation and said as many as six drivers tried to avoid the checkpoint when they realized what it was.
“They would find out it was a checkpoint and try to turn around,” Lane said, “but we had officers waiting, and [the drivers] all got caught.”
Lane said several of those drivers had suspended driver’s licenses.