BENTONVILLE -- Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck said Monday he will not attend a meeting tonight to hear complaints from two employees who claim they were unfairly and improperly demoted.
"This is just dirty politics at play, and I will not lower myself to that," Cradduck said in a teleconference held Monday afternoon. He made a brief statement then ended the teleconference without answering questions.
The two grievance hearings are set for 6 p.m. tonight in Circuit Judge Robin Green's courtroom. County officials said both sides agreed to schedule the hearings for the same date because of overlapping information and the potential of shared witnesses.
George Spence, county attorney, said the hearings may be conducted jointly with the county's grievance council then rendering separate decisions, or the two grievances may be heard one after the other.
Barb Ludwig, county human resources administrator, said county policy doesn't set out a role for anyone to participate in a grievance other than the elected official or department head involved. Ludwig is uncertain how the hearings will proceed if Cradduck doesn't attend. Spence agreed with Ludwig. Spence is reviewing the questions so he can advise the justices of the peace on the grievance panel what they should or can do.
"I do not recall an instance where either the elected official or a department head has not appeared or participated," Spence said. "It's a little unprecedented."
Cradduck said his actions in demoting Lt. Robin Holt and Capt. Jeremy Guyll were justified after it was learned they had participated in the making of a video of Holt in uniform while she was on duty. In a letter being sent to the Grievance Council, Cradduck said the video "cannot be reasonably viewed as appropriate in any professional setting."
Cradduck's letter indicated he will send the council a copy of the video, an article published in 2008 he says provides context for the video and the findings of the internal investigation done by the Sheriff's Office.
The hearings will look into complaints by Holt and Guyll who claim they were demoted after they reported possible criminal conduct by Cradduck to the Arkansas State Police.
The two claim Cradduck ordered the personnel and payroll records of Gabriel Cox, a jail employee, to be altered so he would be paid for time before he was hired. Employment records obtained under the state's Freedom of Information Act show when Cox was hired he listed his place of residence as the same Rogers address listed for Cradduck. Cradduck has said he knows Cox but refused to elaborate.
The State Police are investigating the allegations. Special prosecutor Jason Barrett has been appointed to determine if criminal charges are warranted.
Cradduck said Monday he has been advised by his attorney not to comment on the investigation. The letter did say Cradduck made his decision to discipline the two before he was aware the State Police had been contacted. The letter also points to Major Shawn Holloway as the "actual whistle blower," adding Holloway, who is running for sheriff, has not been disciplined.
"It is irresponsible and reckless for Sheriff Cradduck to suggest the many investigators at the Arkansas State Police, the prosecuting attorney in Benton County and the special prosecutor from Little Rock would somehow be part of, or fall victim to, a political plot to destroy him," Holloway said in an email. "I choose to think our good community is much smarter than that.
"Nothing in my campaign is designed to undermine the Sheriff, and I report to work each day ready to help our good community," he said.
Michelle Chiocco, chairman of the grievance council, said she will wait for Spence to review the situation and listen to his advice on how to proceed. Chiocco said the council is in place only to hear an employee's grievance and decide on the evidence presented about those complaints, not deal in politics.
"It saddens me to hear the sheriff said that," she said.
NW News on 11/17/2015