59 apply to become LR’s chief of police

Texans, retirees and unqualified applicants abound in the search for the next Little Rock chief of police while Northern applicants and women were few and far between.

The search to replace Chief Stuart Thomas, who plans to retire by the end of June, yielded 59 applicants, nine more than the 2005 search to replace former Chief Lawrence Johnson. The deadline to apply for the current search was last week.

Of the pool of applicants, 12 are Arkansans, ranging from Michael Clark, a former optician in North Little Rock, to Lloyd Franklin, who retired as an Arkansas State Police commander in Pine Bluff in mid-2012 after a 39-year career.

The next highest number of applicants, eight, hail from police departments or other agencies in Texas, while only 19 applications came from non-Southern states.

In the search for a Little Rock Police chief nine years ago, five applicants came from within the department. This year, only three of the applicants are members of the state’s largest municipal police department.

Another applicant, a former Little Rock police captain and chief of police in Minnesota, David Ebinger, also applied after an unsuccessful bid for the city’s top law spot in 2005.

The ranking Little Rock applicant is Assistant Chief of Police Eric Higgins, who joined the department as a cadet in 1984.

Higgins, who holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Liberty University in Virginia, became an assistant in 2004 and has since commanded every division in the department.

Like Ebinger, he applied for the top job in 2005 and, also like Ebinger, made it to the final 10 applicants to be considered.

Only five women applied for the job, according to records, and two of them already work for the Little Rock department.

Capt. Alice Fulk, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a master’s degree in human resources from Webster University, joined the department in 1992.

After her rise to captain over the northwest patrol division in 2004, she moved on to command the department’s major crimes and detective division.

She is joined by Capt. Patrice Smith, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She joined the department in 1982 and currently heads a special project overseeing the use of sales tax revenue for new departmental improvements.

Both Fulk and Smith are in the midst of civil lawsuits against the city and Thomas over allegations that the city acted unfairly in its promotions process for two assistant chief of police spots two years ago.

The other three women applicants include Andra Grinstead, a lieutenant from the Bibb County sheriff’s office in Georgia; Lori Sweeney, a deputy chief of police in Rockford, Ill.; and Melissa Teeling, an enforcement clerk with the Pulaski County sheriff’s office.

City Manager Bruce Moore said that at this point in the application process, he has no preference for hiring from within or looking for someone from outside the department.

Moore said he is interested in whittling down the applicants to the most qualified four or five finalists to be brought in for interviews and public forums, and that he hopes to have a replacement for Thomas when the chief steps down in June.

With an applicant pool that includes a range of chiefs, former chiefs, deputies, academics and operatives from federal law enforcement agencies, Moore said that he and the city’s human resources staff will work together to sort the applications by tiers and that he will review all of them, some with more scrutiny than others.

The position, which will pay between $91,038 and $140,199, requires a bachelor’s degree or an “equivalent” combination of education and experience, as well as five years of experience as a manager in a law enforcement agency.

Some applicants, such as a former Chipotle server and a New York political operative, lack the requisite experience in law enforcement to be seriously considered.

Others have experience but have left recent positions on less than ideal footing.

A background search using local media found instances of candidates suing their former employers only because they left for a job that didn’t materialize, retired amid suspension and controversy or merely have their contracts not renewed by new local leadership.

Moore said that the city will be hiring a contractor to perform thorough background checks and that he’ll be sure to ask direct and “candid” questions once interviews begin.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 04/14/2014

Upcoming Events