BENTON - Two former Saline County sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday pleaded with justices of the peace to clear their names after the two men said they were wrongfully fired.
Interim Sheriff Cleve Barfield fired narcotics detectives Kevin Cooper and Robert Burnett on Jan. 21 after reviewing their job performances since the beginning of 2013, according to their termination letters. Barfield requested the number of cases the former detectives worked from the county prosecuting attorney’s office.
“Your activity and case files submitted for prosecution are woefully inadequate for this time period,” the letters state. According to a letter from prosecutor Ken Casady’s office, the detectives “clearly worked” six cases, had been involved in 10 cases but weren’t the primary investigators and were listed as witnesses in five cases, though the office didn’t know how they were involved.
The cases only included those submitted to the prosecutor’s office between January 2013 and Jan. 17 this year.
Cooper had been with the department 14 years and Burnett about eight, they told justices of the peace Tuesday.
Cooper, who is running for sheriff, told the Quorum Court that he had been on medical leave for almost 11 months in 2013. Cooper was chasing an armed-robbery suspect in December 2012, when he jumped a fence and ran through a pasture, injuring a knee, he said after the meeting.
He had reconstructive surgery and was on desk duty, but had been setting up an undercover cocaine bust, he said, that would have reaped about $3 million in drugs.
“The sheriff himself told me it was too good to be true,” he said.
Barfield denied Cooper permission to serve a narcotics search warrant and another drug case with Arkansas State Police, Cooper said, adding that he never got a reason.
Under policy, Burnett said he couldn’t work drug cases on his own while his partner was on medical leave. Burnett told the Quorum Court that he tried to go back into a drug task force, and Barfield backed it, but that the prosecutor stopped it.
“I don’t understand that,” he said. “This would have saved you money. [It would have] paid an officer’s salary, his vehicle and his fuel.”
Burnett added that Barfield gave some other employees the opportunity to move to other positions within the department, but he and his partner were never given that chance.
“That’s a question y’all need to ask yourself tonight,” Cooper said. “Is there political motivation for this termination? My answer is yes.”
After the meeting Tuesday, Cooper said he believed he was fired after Casady, who he said backed another candidate, learned Cooper was running for sheriff.
The two men, represented by attorney Luther Sutter, have not filed lawsuits over the firings, Cooper said, as they are saving that as a “last resort.” Justices of the peace didn’t say anything after their pleas.
In other action Tuesday, justices of the peace passed an animal-control ordinance for Hot Springs Village. The ordinance has stalled numerous times, but passed Tuesday on a 7-5 vote.
The ordinance followed a Nov. 21 fatal dog attack in the Saline County portion of the village. A bull mastiff/pit bull mix attacked Joan Kappen, 75, who was on her daily walk through the neighborhood, authorities have said.
The ordinance, which was put forth by the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association, will force dog owners to register their animals with the association and vaccinate them. Owners of vicious dogs or “high risk” breeds will not be allowed to let the animals run free on anyone’s property and must keep them “securely muzzled and restrained” in public, the ordinance states.
The Garland County portion of the village has had a similar ordinance in effect since April 10, and one citation already has been issued. Under the ordinance, if an owner is in violation of the the measure, he could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
Justice of the Peace Mark Kizer, who voted against the measure, said after the meeting that he felt the ordinance singled out certain breeds.
“It’s kind of like saying certain people are bad or good,” he said. “I don’t think it’s over with.”
Keith Heck, president of the property owners association, said he was thankful the association was able to work with both counties to get the ordinance in place.
“The overall importance is that we are trying to promote responsible pet ownership,” he said. “We wanted to do whatever we can to break the tragic chain of events that happened in November. We want every dog owner to be a good dog owner.”
Arkansas, Pages 8 on 04/17/2014