The next chief of police for Little Rock will come from Kentucky.
Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore announced Wednesday that Kenton Buckner, the assistant police chief from the Louisville Metro Police Department, will succeed Chief Stuart Thomas.
Buckner, 45, has been an assistant chief in Louisville for three years, where he headed the support services bureau.
His hiring culminates Little Rock's chief search, which started with 59 applicants in mid-April and was whittled to three finalists by last week.
Buckner said Wednesday that he looks forward to starting with the department.
"I was very impressed with the police facilities. I was extra impressed with the command [staff]. I think there's a great group of people that Chief Thomas has put in place," he said. "We're on solid ground, but there is always room for improvement."
Thomas will retire June 27 after nine years as chief and 35 years with the department.
Moore said choosing Thomas' replacement wasn't easy, given the records of the other finalists: John Ray, chief deputy for the Tarrant County sheriff's office in Texas, and Eric Higgins, Little Rock's assistant chief.
But, he said, it was Buckner who impressed him the most during interviews and with comments he made during a May 12 public reception.
"I believe [Buckner] is the person that can lead the department," Moore said. "I felt that he was the right person at the right time for Little Rock."
Some in the city and in the department expressed a desire to see Thomas' replacement come from within the ranks.
Hours after Moore announced his pick, Stop The Violence -- a crime and violence prevention group -- sent out a statement saying its members were disappointed over Moore's selection, calling it a "bad decision."
"[Higgins] has paid his dues, he has come up through the ranks, and he knows the department inside and out, he is also very professional," the statement said. "We feel that this is a slap in the face when you go many miles away and bring in someone new that doesn't even know the department."
Citing gains made by the department during Thomas' tenure, which include a drop in crime and an increase in staffing, Moore said he didn't have a preference from the outset on hiring from outside or within the department, and that his selection of Buckner was in no way a reflection on the department's current administration.
"All three [candidates] would have a learning curve. None of them have been a chief," Moore said. "There's going to be change whether it's an internal [candidate] or external [candidate]."
Buckner will be the 37th police chief in Little Rock. While Thomas was hired after rising through the ranks in Little Rock, the two chiefs have both previously worked out of state.
Mayor Mark Stodola applauded Moore's choice. He said he was impressed by Buckner and that he looks forward to working with him, especially in implementing community-based, crime-intervention and prevention strategies.
"I appreciated [Buckner's] candor. I think he was direct, and that's important," Stodola said. "Being a new kid coming in, there is a learning curve, and that could be, I think, it could be good for the department to have a fresh look at things from someone on the outside."
Buckner, who made just over $115,000 last year in Louisville, will be paid $135,000 in Little Rock, according to Moore.
The advertised pay range for the job was $91,038 to $140,199, just slightly under Thomas' annual $140,424 salary.
Buckner became a police officer in Louisville in 1993 and quickly became a plainclothes detective working in the areas of narcotics and gangs, facing the violence both often produce.
He was promoted to sergeant in 2004, according to records, and was promoted three times between 2008 and 2011. He has been managing the department's community programs, as well as crime records and data programs as chief of the support bureau.
In his public remarks during his May reception in Little Rock, Buckner said he is unfamiliar with Arkansas' capital, but he did some research on it. He told the audience, which included city and department officials, that there was no denying that the first thing outsiders think of when they hear the words "Little Rock" is crime.
Like Higgins said before him and Ray said to a lesser extent after him, Buckner told people at the public reception that the only way to improve the perception about Little Rock and to cut into violent crime is to focus on community partnerships that go beyond the typical measures of community policing.
Moore said Buckner's commitment to such efforts captured his attention and helped sell him on Buckner.
On Wednesday, Buckner said he wants to strengthen the department's relationships with community organizations, nonprofits and faith-based groups, and he reiterated his previous comments that departments can't simply arrest their way out of crime problems.
"The chief's role is a pivotal role [in reducing violent crime], but it's one of a lightning rod, one that sets the course for the destination we decide to take," Buckner said. "That all has to be done in concert with the community. Any department that tries to do it alone will find out you will have limited to short-term success."
When asked what operational aspects of the department need improvement, Buckner said he didn't want to say until he has time to examine the department and to speak with people within the ranks and within the city.
City Director Ken Richardson met and listened to all three candidates and said that in his view the decision came down to Buckner and Higgins, both of whom he found convincing in their intentions to focus on building community networks that can prevent career criminals from starting.
"I thought that [Buckner] showed a lot of compassion. I thought he had some good ideas as far as where he'd take the department," Richardson said. "You hear people talk about [community relations and crime prevention] in a perfunctory way, but I saw the passion in his approach to public safety. ... Unfortunately, because [often] public-safety answers come with more police and bigger jails, I didn't get the impression that was his panacea."
The Fraternal Order of Police President Jarred McCauley said he wanted to congratulate the new chief and looked forward to working closely on issues of officer safety.
The head of the Black Police Officers Association, Melvin Vester, did not return a call seeking comment.
A section on 05/29/2014