A single vote delayed the purchase of riot gear for the majority of the 551-officer Little Rock police force Tuesday, despite the majority of city board members present voting against a deferral.
After an hour-and-a-half-long discussion with community members and the police chief, Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix motioned to delay voting on the purchase for 30 days to allow time for more research on the topic and the effect police in riot gear would have on relations with the community.
Her motion failed with only herself and City Directors Ken Richardson and Kathy Webb supporting it.
Vice Mayor Lance Hines then motioned to end discussion and immediately go to a vote on the ordinance, which passed 7-1 with Hendrix voting no. Two directors were absent.
That vote authorized the purchase of 500 each of helmets, gas masks and shin guards, as well as 150 shields at a cost of $340,380.
But the ordinance needed another vote on the emergency clause to allow the gear to be bought immediately.
To pass the emergency clause, all eight directors present would have had to vote in favor, but Hendrix was a holdout, causing the emergency clause to fail.
Hendrix smiled and clasped her hands together when Mayor Mark Stodola said after the 7-1 vote that there would be 30 days for more research after all. Hines, Richardson, Webb and City Directors B.J. Wyrick, Brad Cazort, Joan Adcock and Dean Kumpuris voted to authorize the purchase and in support of the emergency vote. City Directors Doris Wright and Gene Fortson were absent.
The board had no further discussions about how the need for the equipment would be researched during the 30-day period.
In justifying the purchase request Tuesday, Police Chief Kenton Buckner talked about the recent protests and riots in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore after the deaths of black men at the hands of police. The Baltimore Police Department was in the midst of purchasing similar gear when the death of Freddie Gray led to protests and, ultimately, riots there, Buckner said.
"I understand seeing officers in this gear is inflammatory and some folks will argue inciteful," Buckner said. "But you cannot expect a police officer to protect life and property if he cannot protect himself. ... I understand this is uncomfortable for all of us as Americans because we ask why are we militarizing our police ... [but] this is the new America. This is the new normal -- whether we like it or not."
He said he has no indication that riots might occur soon in Little Rock, but that it's his job to make sure the police are prepared. The protective gear should be standard issue for officers coming out of the academy, he said. He also told the board he is in the process of updating the department's emergency response general orders.
Several people who spoke said the city should take more time to get the policy in place before purchasing gear that they believe isn't needed.
"This is not Ferguson," Hendrix told Buckner. "People in this town are usually laid-back."
Annie Abrams, a well-known local civil-rights advocate who volunteers in the community to work on race relations and other issues, had a similar statement.
"We didn't even have a riot in 1957 and we didn't have a riot when we had HBO," she said, referring to the 1957 Central High desegregation crisis, in which black youths were integrated into the all-white school, and the HBO documentaries that aired in the mid-1990s about the heightened gang violence in Little Rock at the time.
Resident Carolyn Floyd said before purchasing extra police gear, the department needs to better train its officers on how to deal with residents. After she and a group of her neighbors near Centennial Park addressed the board recently about the park, she said police came to abruptly enforce its sunset closure.
Officers parked their vehicles in front of the gate and told people to leave without ever getting out of their cars and refused to speak to Floyd when she approached them, she said.
"Anytime we speak out on the trouble [or] the interactions between police and our community, then police seem to come down in an intimidation force to run us, to scare us from our park. They don't want us in our park. They don't want us to speak out," Floyd said.
In response to the objection voiced Tuesday, Little Rock Police Sgt. Rodney Lewis told board members police needed the gear. He is one of 44 officers who are members of a special response unit that is already outfitted with riot gear. He admitted that in his 25 years with the Little Rock Police Department, he's never seen a riot.
"If you send us out there to do the work, no matter how many officers get injured or even some might get killed, which one of y'all are going to go to my house and tell my wife or my kids 'I failed them'?" Lewis asked.
Buckner never once referred to the gear using the term "riot" Tuesday. When Richardson pointed that out, Buckner said: "Sir, we can call it whatever you want to call it. We call it protective gear."
Audience member Russ Racop pointed out that the gas masks aren't to protect police from gas thrown at them; rather it's for their protection from the tear gas they will deploy.
When the city does put in the purchase order in 30 days, it will take another 30-45 days to receive the gear. With the addition, just seven of the current 551 sworn officers will be without such gear.
Little Rock-based Cruse Uniforms and Equipment will supply the equipment. Of the cost, $100,000 is being funded by the Police Department's seized-asset fund and the balance will be paid from the city's general fund.
Metro on 05/20/2015